by Dana Halawi
BEIRUT, Dec 31 (NNN-XINHUA) – Karim Hajj carefully arranges his cutlery in preparation for the small celebration he will be hosting in his house on the occasion of New Year.
He goes over his to-do-list for the day to make sure he is ready to receive his very few friends for dinner tonight.
Karim told Xinhua that he rarely celebrated the New Year at home, but the economic crisis and increasing COVID-19 cases in Lebanon forced him to do so this time.
Karim used to pay no less than 300 U.S. dollars to celebrate New Year in some of Beirut’s famous clubs. However, he decided to invite some friends over this year, to save money, in light of the steep devaluation of salaries, after the collapse of local currency.
“This is more convenient and safer, as the invitees will be doing COVID-19 PCR tests ahead of the gathering, to be able to celebrate guilt-free,” he added.
Likewise, Rasha Sabaa told Xinhua that her friends will each cook a dish and gather at her place to celebrate New Year by playing party games and enjoying a joyful Karaoke night.
“I believe some of our New Year traditions will have to change from now on, with the prevailing economic crisis and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic … It’s no big deal as long as we can still meet with our good friends and have a good time, while taking proper precautions,” Sabaa said.
For his part, Assem Adra, a Lebanese expatriate, who arrived a few days ago from Nigeria, decided to hire a band at his place and invite his friends to drink and dance, which would create an atmosphere that is similar to that of a nightclub.
Adra, who is a successful businessman with good financial means, said, he can afford to spend a few hundred dollars to throw a party for his close friends at his place.
“I’ll spare my friends the burden of spending money to celebrate New Year, as they can no longer afford restaurants, in light of the currency collapse,” he told Xinhua.
Pierre Ashkar, head of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners in Lebanon, told Xinhua that, most people this year rent chalets in villages, by sharing the cost, in order to save money.
“Some chalets can be occupied by only five people, for instance, but they are being used by around eight to ten people each, to reduce rental cost,” he said, adding, this solution is less costly than celebrating at a restaurant or a nightclub.
One more reason behind people’s private celebrations is the COVID-19 outbreak, which limited the capacity of restaurants to 50 percent only, according to government measures.
For her part, Lebanese Economist, Layal Mansour, told Xinhua, celebrations are no longer an option for most Lebanese, who are barely capable of affording their most basic needs.
“The purchasing power of Lebanese people dropped remarkably, with most of them being unable to afford hospitalisation costs, medicines, school fees and food,” she said.
Lebanon has been going through the worst financial crisis in its history, with the poverty rate hovering over 78 percent, according to the World Bank.– NNN-XINHUA
