On the morning of Friday, Oct. 30, University students woke up, checked their Snapchat stories and saw the beautiful snow covering college campuses across the Northeast. Excited that this Halloween could be filled with snow, Villanovans ran to their windows eager to see a white ground, only to see the freezing rain falling from the sky. It was quite unfortunate.

Everyone knows that the minute the clock strikes midnight on Oct. 31, it is officially time for Thanksgiving turkey and holiday cheer. Every Nov. 1, supermarkets begin to clear their shelves full of Halloween candy and replace it with everything green and red. Instead of Tent-or-Treating, Villanovans will be decking the halls with boughs of holly. But, we have to ask ourselves, what will the holiday season look like this year?

Unfortunately, similar to everything else in the world right now, the upcoming holiday season will look extremely different. Halloween gave everyone a nice preview for how a holiday based around social interactions can change during a pandemic, including socially distant haunted houses, cancelled costume parties and limited trick-or-treating.

Luckily, many people found ways to adjust their Halloween festivities to be suitable for COVID-19, and the same can be done for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

Just like Halloween, Thanksgiving is not going to look the same as previous years. The holiday itself is known for bringing family together. Social distancing is not Thanksgiving’s friend. Even beyond Thanksgiving dinner, traditions such as neighborhood football games or watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will not be attainable this year. Instead of the normal large familial gathering, an immediate family dinner may have to do. In addition to the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes on the dinner table, you may have to jump on your computer and Zoom with family members for a virtual Thanksgiving dinner.

After Thanksgiving comes Christmas. This is a holiday famous for its extravagant parties, mistletoe kisses and packed Christmas Eve mass: all things that COVID-19 would not approve of. Sadly, this year, the extravagant parties are going to take a hit, the mistletoe is going to be benched and Christmas Eve mass may turn virtual due to the large number of churchgoers on that day. Christmas Day will feel different, but to COVID-19’s dismay, Santa has the antibodies, so he is still able to get to everyone’s homes without worry.

Next comes New Years. There is not much to say about New Years, as long as the clock strikes midnight and takes us all far away from 2020.

In all seriousness, COVID-19 may change the holidays in the upcoming weeks, but something that can never be taken away is the spirit each holiday brings. Thanksgiving is still about being thankful and bringing family together. Christmas still has its magical spirit and New Years allows us all to say goodbye to 2020 and start something new, which is something everyone is grateful for.

So, instead of dreading this holiday season, look forward to it, because with all the craziness happening in the world, everyone can use some holiday cheer.