Queens Gazette

Still Much To Be Thankful For


The year 2020 has forced us to emphasize the spiritual, philosophical, patriotic, historical, and cultural aspects of every holiday – and less so the traditional, physically celebratory or commemorative aspects, such as parades, visits, and dinners. One might say, Well so much for Thanksgiving, which is iconically about all three. If you love tradition, that’s yet one more disappointment this year has brought.

Just like every other occasion for gathering this year, Thanksgiving Dinner must also adapt. Two weeks ago, according to APnews.com, “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its holiday guidance, noting the virus crisis is worsening and that small household gatherings are ‘an important contributor.’ The CDC said older adults and others at heightened risk of severe illness should avoid gathering with people outside their households.” And if one is going to proceed with a shared meal, for instance gathering a few friends or relatives who live alone, “Guest lists for indoor feasts should be small enough so people can sit six feet apart while unmasked and eating. Open the windows to keep air circulating.”

If you really want to have a big gathering, the proper way to do it is for each guest to observe strict quarantine right before Thanksgiving Day for two full weeks, and take a test right before, allowing time for the result before the visit. It will be hard or impossible to maintain strict quarantine for two weeks as many are back to physically working. Obviously, those who live together can celebrate together and limit extended family and friend visits to the virtual. Some are going high-tech with video calls on Zoom or Facetime, but phone calls are still a simple option.

Good-hearted, generous people are still remembering those who are perhaps alone and/or in need during the holiday season. While they might not be able to hold a massive feast as they usually do, they are packaging meals and delivering them, and a brief hello that shows the recipients someone cares. This is one thing we have not foregone this year.

In spite of it all, we still do have many blessings for which to be grateful. So do count them! Remember, Thanksgiving was born out of near starvation in the early days of our country, and acknowledges how former enemies made peace and broke bread together. Our differences are often what helps us all to survive and even succeed in any endeavor. We all have different talents, skills, knowledge, viewpoints, creativity, experience, backgrounds and more, especially in a country like ours. Just as teams work best when every member can contribute their own specialty, we need each other’s expertise in every sphere. This is something to embrace, celebrate, and never forget.

Finally, as Christmas is officially around the corner as of Black Friday, we encourage everyone to put their gift-shopping dollars where they will do the most good for our neighborhoods: remember to please Shop Local on Small Business Saturday. It is now more imperative than ever. We are indeed lucky to still have great local options for shopping, dining and services.

We at the Queens Gazette are always thankful for our readers and advertisers, without either of whom we would not get to do the thing we love, which is to learn about and share everything Queens. We wish you all good health and much love this Thanksgiving weekend!

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