Stille Nacht: COVID and the Ghost of Christmas 2020

Abstract

Annually, there are between 2500 and 3000 Christmas markets in Germany. While purported to be rooted in century-old tradition, the current concept of the markets, shaped in the 1930s, gradually transformed from primarily mercantile operations to experiential events. The experiential dimension is a collection of visual, auditory, and olfactory components that create a compound sensory response: the ‘Christmas atmosphere’. The prevalence of COVID-19 meant that traditional Christmas markets were largely absent from the festive calendar in Germany in 2020, disrupting the usual sensory experiences associated with these events. A review of the online presence showed that augmented markets and virtual reality were subsequently utilized in an attempt to re-create the experience and the ambience of the traditional markets, but had limited interactivity with many of the senses. We explore to what extent these multiple-sensory components may have been lost during the Christmas period of 2020 due to the COVID-19-induced transition from the traditional multisensory live market to a predominantly online experience, and highlight problems which arise through the documentation of such complex intangible heritage.

Designing for COVID-2x: Reflecting on Future-Proofing Human Habitation for the Inevitable Next Pandemic

“…At least in the more affluent countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has effected, or at least accelerated, a pivot to a world that is dominated by digital technology with the virtual delivery of school and university education [86][87][88][89], museum experiences [90,91], film festivals [92,93] and seasonal festive markets [94]. The major pivot has been towards working from home where feasible [95][96][97] and an increase in on-line commerce including groceries [98][99][100].…”

The Nexus between Cultural Heritage Management and the Mental Health of Urban Communities

“…The cross-sectorial disruptor represented by COVID-19 has highlighted the fragility of the consumptive aspects of cultural heritage, in particular cultural tourism [98], museum visits [79], auditory heritage [99,100], festivals [101,102] and community events [102] as well as seasonal markets [103]. While several cultural tourism localities and cultural institutions swiftly pivoted to various forms of virtual delivery [104][105][106][107] touting it as the new dawn, this pivot marginalized some segments of society [108].…”

“…While several cultural tourism localities and cultural institutions swiftly pivoted to various forms of virtual delivery [104][105][106][107] touting it as the new dawn, this pivot marginalized some segments of society [108]. Indeed, many intangible aspects of heritage, in particular those that rely on multisensorial experiences could not be replicated fully and could only be substituted in rudimentary form [103]. While the pivot to digital delivery suited the younger, 'techno-and future-native' generations, many seniors, even 'future-migrants' [109], found them unfulfilling and challenging [79].…”

Ongoing adaptive reuse: patterns of heritage resilience before and after COVID-19

“…Since the discovery of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (2020) as the cause of the COVID-19 infectious disease, literature on the impact of the pandemic on cultural heritage has increased. This literature focuses on how COVID-related restrictions have had both negative and positive effects on museum activities (Vayanou et al, 2020, p. 19), events or festivals (Parker and Spennemann, 2021), socio-economic issues related to cultural heritage (Gupta et al, 2022) and realisation of cultural heritage sites (Sofaer et al, 2021). While most scholarly studies describe the impact of the pandemic on institutionalised heritage environments, little attention has been paid to the impact of COVID-19 on bottom-up heritage initiatives, i.e.…”