From a prolonged pandemic, a rethink of life’s milestones?

As the pandemic enters its second year, there’s a pent-up longing for normalcy, especially when it comes to life’s milestones. When the crisis finally resolves, will our new ways of marking births and deaths, weddings, anniversaries and the rituals of the seasons have any lasting, deeper meaning? Or will freshly felt sentiments born of pandemic invention be fleeting? Some predict their pandemic celebrations have set a new course. The crisis has proven that distance no longer denies lasting meaning. Others still mourn the way their celebrations used to be.