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By Kelly Ar\u00e9valo<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The cold Canadian winter warms up every February with the celebration of Valentine’s Day; also known as the month of love and friendship. Despite this, since the COVID-19 pandemic, speaking in terms of economy and consumption, there has been less enthusiasm in relation to celebrating these holidays.<\/span><\/p>\n Although flowers, cards, and chocolates are still more popular during this time of year, in<\/span><\/p>\n smaller amounts, the real romantic dinner dates with friends seems to have changed over to<\/span><\/p>\n ordering take out or staying in. In other words, the pandemic has made Saint Valentine<\/span><\/p>\n to stay home as well.<\/span><\/p>\n The online gift shopping for this holiday has also surpassed in-person store<\/span><\/p>\n purchases. In 2021, according to official figures, Canadians spent 20% less<\/span><\/p>\n than the year before on Valentine’s Day. Unemployment, mental health, increased in cost of living,<\/span><\/p>\n social distancing; are obvious reasons behind the changes in consumption for this well<\/span><\/p>\n anticipated holiday.<\/span><\/p>\n The \u201cconsumer discouragement\u201d that the pandemic caused in relation to the Valentine\u2019s Day is a blessing in disguise because it\u00a0 has opened up the opportunity for reconnecting with the true significance of love and friendship.<\/span><\/p>\n Although we are not able to speak of new forms of connecting at this moment, the pandemic has<\/span><\/p>\n shown us just how important the use of technology has become. Social media, video calling,<\/span><\/p>\n in order to maintain friendships, develop interpersonal relationships, and forge closer ties.<\/span><\/p>\n Long Distance Friendships<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n For immigrant families and individuals, the physical separation and distance from friends and<\/span><\/p>\n loved ones is a very hard and complex experience which has to be endured when we leave our<\/span><\/p>\n home countries.<\/span><\/p>\n Each person experiences different emotions and lives through different phases through this<\/span><\/p>\n difficult process of separation that comes with migration.<\/span><\/p>\n In this atmosphere of nostalgia, they long for friendships, a hug from<\/span><\/p>\n loved ones.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It was that the COVID-19 pandemic that surprised many migrant families,<\/span><\/p>\n impacting the new arrivals with greater force.<\/span><\/p>\n The pandemic negatively impacted and interrupted the normal process of adaptation and<\/span><\/p>\n socialization of those who have recently arrived and are settling into their new communities.<\/span><\/p>\n Social distancing, the protocols and preventions associated with the pandemic have especially affected interpersonal relationships and friendship.<\/span><\/p>\n Translation Spanish-English: Natalia Garc\u00eda<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A lovely gift; friendship! By Kelly Ar\u00e9valo The cold Canadian winter warms up every February with the celebration of Valentine’s Day; also known as the month of love and friendship. Despite this, since the COVID-19 pandemic, speaking in terms of economy and consumption, there has been less enthusiasm in relation to celebrating these holidays. Although […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t