Culture in the Covid-19 Age: Trauma Responses & Coronavirus Rituals

Figure 1: Children in Shanghai don their personalized social distancing hats (Source: Linder 1)

The Covid-19 Pandemic has dramatically changed the world, particularly our social and cultural realities, over the past few months.  New behaviors, such as government instituted or self-imposed social distancing, shelter in place, or quarantines, have become commonplace, and with these a variety of new and/or changed cultural rituals.  This blog post will discuss some of these new and/or changed rituals, which directly result from the pandemic.  These include alterations to mortuary traditions, new ways to support front line workers and cope with trauma, and creative ways to maintain social distancing.

Mortuary Traditions

Mortuary traditions vary cross culturally, meeting social and religious needs by allowing people to inter the dead and assuage personal and/or community grief.  Several mortuary traditions involve ritual bathing of the dead, large gatherings, and/or personal time with the dying or deceased.  All of these actions, however, have had to be altered as a result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and I say altered because when governments attempted to prohibit the continuation of these mortuary rituals the public rebelled.  This happened in the Middle East where various governments attempted to minimize burial rituals (due to the sheer number of dead in a short period of time), but public outcry shifted these initiatives, causing government officials to take control of burials as per the local customs and in adherence to religious doctrine.  In various parts of Asia where cremations and special mortuary rituals are expected these rituals have been put on pause due to travel restrictions and prohibition of large-scale gatherings.  Among Jews it is customary to be with the dying or recently deceased to say goodbye, an act known as the shiva.  In observance of this custom guests can meet with the dying or recently deceased through a glass wall to say their goodbyes.  Across the globe funerary ceremonies are either provided virtually to accommodate larger groups, or they are reserved only for small gatherings, typically immediate family members. 

Supporting Front Line Workers & Relieving Stress

As shelter-in-place orders were mandated across Europe various new rituals occurred.  The Italians took to their balconies and sang, while the Spanish banged pots and pans.  Both of these acts were meant to show support for front line workers, particularly medical professionals, but also served as a coping mechanism to relieve stress and tension.  Across the United States and parts of Canada a new ritual began, which involved howling.  The howling ritual was born out of a social media campaign that encouraged people to go outside at 8 pm and vocalize their support for medical professionals, but in one California community a different take on this idea happened.  It resulted from an individual mimicking the howls of their dog, which was repeated by a neighbor.  The episode was recounted the next day on social media, and the tradition took off from there.  While several individuals in the community disliked the howls it was largely accepted and welcomed by community members, eventually spreading outside of California to various Western and Midwestern states.

Figure 2: Social distancing hats provided by cafe' owner in Germany (Source: Rothe, cited by Dunham 1)

Creative Ways to Maintain Social Distancing

As part of the effort to stop the spread of Covid-19 recommended and/or mandated social distancing protocols have been put into place.  This can be challenging, particularly given that appropriate physical distance among people is culturally dictated (with some cultures requiring less distance among people than others).  Several cultural groups and organizations, though, have taken to using some creative methods to maintain the minimum six feet or one-meter distance, principally in the creation of social distancing hats (Figures 1 & 2).  In Germany a café owner requires patrons to wear hats that have pool tube affixed to them, and in Shanghai school children were required to create their own social distancing hats.  The advantage of the latter over the former is that the students have the autonomy to create and personalize their headgear whereas the café patrons do not. 

Taken together these new cultural rituals demonstrate the creativity and resilience of humans.  Despite the challenges that the Covid-19 Pandemic present people are still maintaining their cultural behaviors, albeit in new or altered forms.  These times demonstrate not only the mechanisms of culture but also those of culture change, which we are both witnessing and experiencing as a direct result of the pandemic.

Works Cited

Dunham, Jackie. "German cafe gives customers pool noodle-hats to ensure they remain physically distant ." CTV News 15 May 2020. Electronic.

Frayer, Lauren, Daniel Estrin and Jane Arraf. "Coronavirus Is Changing The Rituals Of Death For Many Religions." 7 April 2020. National Public Radio. Electronic. 19 May 2020.

Homayoun, Ana. "Some Teenagers Are Creating New Rituals in the Pandemic." New York Times 5 May 2020. Electronic.

Linder, Alex. "Hangzhou kids wear social distancing hats upon return to school." 5 May 2020. Shangailist. Electronic. 19 May 2020.

Scheier, Rachel. "Coronavirus has people howling at the moon." Los Angeles Times 4 April 2020. Electronic.