During the First and Second World Wars, soldiers’ only means of communication with family were letters. Many took weeks to arrive.
For us today, it’s so much easier. All we have to do is pick up our phone, email, text, or video conference to reach our family and friends.
First time without family at Christmas
My father, James Dever, was a 19-year-old Canadian soldier in 1944 when he spent his first Christmas overseas. He missed his parents, grandparents, and nine brothers and sisters. He missed his sweetheart.
In a letter to my mother, he wrote about being away from his family.
I was kind of blue Monday, but that can be expected seeing that it was my first Christmas away from home.
We had a pretty good dinner considering that it was army rations and that we are in England, but it could have been lots better. I hope that I’ll be back in Canada for next Christmas.
I’ll be a lot happier as I’ll be able to see you then and we can go to the skating rink you mentioned in your letter.
My father survived his first Christmas without his family. He survived his second Christmas on an army base in Canada. He survived WWII.
My grandfather survived his Christmases without family. Although he was seriously injured, he survived WWI.
Stay home
Despite the government’s restrictions, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is getting worse. Hospitals are overcrowded.
A Montreal doctor begged people to postpone their Christmas and New Year’s gatherings until several months from now, although he seemed overly optimistic about us being able to get together as early as March or April.
He said, “Let’s just postpone Christmas until March or April, when a good chunk of the population will have been vaccinated, barring any disasters … (then) you can have your entire family together rather than trying to sneak around and break the rules and put everyone at risk, including yourself and your loved ones.”
We can all do our part this year by not getting together with family and friends who are not part of our immediate household.
If my grandfather and your grandfather or your great-grandfather or your great-uncle could be apart from their family during the First World War, we can do the same.
If my father and your father or your grandfather or your uncle could spend Christmas away from their family during the Second World War, we can do the same.
Next December, we can all get together to celebrate how we survived the pandemic.
Years from now, we’ll be able to talk about Christmas 2020 and how it was different from any other year. We’ll reminisce about the small sacrifices we made. Think of the stories we’ll tell.
If you plan to spend time virtually with your family, you may want to ask these Ten questions for your Zoom holiday, compiled by Raymond Addison.
Please be safe during Christmas and New Year’s.
