Christmas wreath: – – A difficult moment

There are many who will miss someone at this year’s Christmas party. Around several dining tables, the chairs are empty as a result of the corona wave that has swept our country.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was recorded in Norway, more than 300 people have died from or with the virus.

Many are also affected by uncertainty, even in the form of layoffs. People have postponed confirmations, birthday parties, and weddings. The funerals have only been for the closest ones, while others have said goodbye by video.

Therefore, many looked forward to a Christmas celebration with the family. But Christmas 2020 will be special.

Send us your photos and descriptions of the pre-Christmas season and the Christmas celebration in our protocol here.

– Heavy weather

One person who has really known that the coronavirus affects everyday life is Birgit Mogen (83) from Skullerud in Oslo. She and her husband Øystein became infected with the virus when the pandemic hit Norway.

On March 23, Øystein (89) died in Ullevål hospital.

This will be the first Christmas without her husband. In September, they were supposed to have celebrated 60 years of marriage, but that didn’t happen.

– It’s a difficult time. Especially now, just before Christmas. This dark time doesn’t make things any better, he tells Dagbladet.

At the same time, she emphasizes that she is not alone and that the three children with grandchildren have aligned. Still, Christmas is special. On Wednesday, the government presented the tips for the Christmas celebration.

It opens here for up to ten guests on two of the days. But one must keep a distance of one meter from people outside the home at all times. It is not yet clear whether the Municipality of Oslo will make further adjustments.

– It is a pity that the family has to divide this year. We can’t all be together. At the same time, we need to get rid of the virus. We have been very careful, says Mogen.

– You must take it seriously

She still doesn’t know how they got infected. It’s scary to think about, think.

– I’m afraid of getting infected again. We must take this seriously. I also didn’t fully understand seriousness until we were in the middle of it. Fear is probably in, since we have passed it. I am a little afraid to go to the store, but I see that now there are less.

On April 17, Øystein was buried. Not everyone was allowed in attendance due to infection control considerations, but video streaming was arranged. The 83-year-old says the funeral was nice, but that it was sad not being able to have proper company with the whole family afterward.

– I’m happy with the time we spent together. Now I have my children and I spent Christmas. At times like these, family matters a lot. I think of those who are alone.

These rules apply at Christmas

I had to keep my distance

Jarle Gogstad’s family (46) is also greatly affected by the situation of the crown, and faces a special Christmas.

Gogstad had his cancer treatment postponed when the coronavirus took hold in March. When Dagbladet spoke to him, it was clear to him that it was okay to prevent vulnerable patients from getting infected.

Because he was at risk, he had to take extra precautions to avoid getting infected.

– The worst thing is that I have to get away from my two children, eleven and 14 years old. I was isolated in a hospital. I’m terrified of being infected, Gogstad told Dagbladet in late March.

In August, he died after battling lung cancer for seven years.

Once again, a family is in mourning. Who first had to stay away from a sick relative, and then carry out a funeral in the safest way possible, and who now cannot celebrate Christmas together.

– Jarle was positive in the end. It was like he was comforting me, even though I was going to die. He received cancer treatment in the end, but it was the spread that took him away, says his brother, Glenn Olaf Larsen.

Tjølling Church in Larvik was filled with the maximum number compatible with the crown when Gogstad was buried. Dagbladet came to follow him to the end. The brother says that the 46-year-old knew people from all over the country and that many wanted to say goodbye.

– It was the disease that took him. Not the coronavirus

– Third year

Now one person is missing for the Christmas celebration.

– We will not be able to celebrate the whole family this year. Then we become too many. The most important thing to me now is that we take care of Jarle’s family. It is important that we stick together.

At the same time that Jarle died, Larsen lost another family member and a close friend to cancer.

– It has been a difficult time, with a lot in a short time. A shitty year and a crown hell. Now the year has just passed. We don’t get everyone together for Christmas, but we are connected and we help each other in the family. Jarle was so happy with it that we were so close.

Larsen now notices little things in everyday life that remind him of his brother.

– You struggled to fall asleep after getting sick. So he often texted “awake?” Then I answered “yes”, and then he called. I’m still waiting for that message.

– It’s very strange that he’s not here. I am in the grave almost every day. He was 15 years older than me, so when I was little I lived with him. We had a very close relationship.

The difficult days of cancer patients

Larsen says that his brother had an active role in the Tjølling sports association and that he did not sit down because he was ill. On the contrary, he tried to live life normally until the end, even though his final year was very special.

– I’m a handball coach and I used to finger him on the way home after training. When I pass by now, it is dark. It’s very strange, he says.