Many of us have to cancel all sorts of celebrations due to the pandemic. Weddings, graduations and even funerals. About a week ago the administration at our university called off our graduation ceremony, and I’ve heard of many others having to put off their ceremonies and parties as well.
But. Celebration doesn’t mean party. It doesn’t mean “the ritual that we usually do”. Neither does it need to be put off. Not necessarily.
Celebration is a way of acknowledging something we as a group think is worth paying attention to. Most of us do it in similar ways, with parties and some sort of rite of passage. Like putting on graduation hats, or putting rings on one another.
And of course, a big part of it to many of us is to be together during that time.
What if celebration was done profoundly differently? Or what if we do the rituals and acknowledgements that we can, and adjust the rest of them? In my graduation ceremony from high school, we had dedicated hats that played a huge role for most people.
We can still get those. Our teacher might not be able to put it on our head, but that can easily be done by someone who means a lot to us if they’re able to come around. Or you do it virtually with that person saying some dedicated words.
My point is, we’re envisioning a way of celebrating that might be healthy to rethink permanently. It might not have to be with a lot of people. It might not have to be with a lot of alcohol and loud music. Neither of those things are necessary to pay some extra attention to something worth acknowledging.
All you need for that is to make your own ritual up.