Six positives (and six steps) for another pandemic Christmas

Christmas communicates a basic message: there is hope in the world and for everyone, whatever happens around you and whoever you are.

So, emboldened by the spirit of Christmas, I dare to propose several positive, hopeful elements that we can experience during these holidays even in the midst of the health crisis due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus that is engulfing us.

The authorities remind us of the six M's to always keep in mind as protective measures.

What if they were also, seen from another perspective, six reasons for rejoicing?

1) Less contacts is more

. The rulers recommend reducing the number of diners gathered around the table. It is the occasion, not even painted, to get rid of the plasta cousin / uncle / neighbor who took advantage of the occasion every year to sneak into the party. With fewer guests, the budget tightens - another good news. And if all this were not enough, being less, perhaps each one of them will have to talk a little more and at the end of the evening, perhaps even a couple of guests get to know each other better. After so many years of rubbing shoulders, it was about time.

2)

. How lucky we are to live in a country where the weather is often good and it allows us, even in the harshest of winter, to have some tapas in the open air. Let's meet family and friends on the street, at the bar, in the park, in the mountains. What if we organize a picnic? If there are children in garlic it will seem like the best of ideas. Even snowfalls don't discourage a child from going outside to play. I refer to the experience. And if the cold is scary, the entire family is supplied with pocket stoves, the same ones used by skiers in winter. There is no bad weather for the hiker. There are only poorly equipped hikers.

3)

. Do you also have children for whom washing your hands (and your face and your teeth and your body) is an ordeal? What better than to mention the covid-19 to gather the whole family in a

front of the bathroom and that each one understands that hygiene is not a personal option but a social obligation. Whenever I can, I bring up the story of the Black Death that wiped out 60% of the European population in the 14th century. Jewish communities were not so affected and for this reason they were unfairly accused of being behind this misfortune. What saved the Jews is the ritual and ancient custom of hand washing. This, together with the isolation in separate neighborhoods, protected them from the epidemic that decimated the entire continent.

What better way than to mention the covid-19 to gather the whole family in a 'plis' in front of the bathroom and that each one understands that hygiene is not a personal option but a social obligation

4)

. That really is a great luck for some. For whom it is? Well, for those who always have food remains between their teeth and suffer the unspeakable because no charitable soul comes to warn them of the lettuce leaf trapped between the tooth and the molar and they discover the intense green between their white teeth at night when they return home. Great luck also for those who find that their big nose or their little nose, as the case may be, is the worst thing on their face. Also for those who cannot bear to smile all the time at the stupid cousin because the family convention

that at home and in private we live a

of a sweetened Christmas advertisement. And

, for parents who fight for children not to put their finger in the nose.

Not that the mask prevents it, but at least it makes it a bit difficult.

5) Meters (at least 1.5 m between people)

.

We are finally going to park the Twister game.

Who hasn't tangled arms and legs at some point with a friend playing Twister before falling dead weight to the ground and smashing elbows and knees?

Where is the fun of the game?

Let's give way to ping-pong, tennis, badminton, everything that allows us to maintain distance between people, physical distance, it is understood, not emotional.

And let's keep playing, of course.

6) I stay home

with symptoms or diagnosis of covid-19.

When all the sarao takes place outside, what a pain to have to lock yourself at home!

And yet, at this time, if you play the Christmas spirit game, the house is doing well.

No matter how little it is decorated, it is a pleasure to contemplate the tree covered with luminous garlands, open the little windows of the Advent calendar one day after another, steal a piece of nougat in the kitchen sheltered from prying eyes that would give us away.

So if we have to stay home to let the cold that has come over us pass, let's take the opportunity to have a chicken broth and celebrate what we have instead of regretting what we miss.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!