Andrea Stevens
AFRO Staff Writer
For generations, family gatherings often centered around one place: Grandma’s house. While shifting lifestyles, the pandemic and modern technology have changed how families come together, that familiar home still serves as the heart of connection for many.
Olivia McCall, a 25-year-old professional ballerina from Baltimore, said she has seen the way her family gatherings shifted in recent years.
“I would say family gatherings are less frequent and smaller,” McCall said. “But it’s definitely still the heart of the family. From holidays to birthdays, we’ve always gone to Grandma’s house. It’s a place where the whole family comes, is the most familiar and where we may even meet new family.”
She believes the pandemic played a major role in that change.
“That shift truly happened during and after COVID,” she said. “We weren’t allowed to safely be around each other for like two years, and it definitely affected big gatherings. For a minute, it would only be the immediate cousins.”
Now, McCall sees her extended family slowly returning to old traditions.
“In 2025, more extended family is starting to come to family events again,” she said.
Technology, she added, has helped her family stay connected even when physically apart.
“It definitely helped us connect as a family during those COVID times,” McCall said. “It still helps now, since all of our family doesn’t live in Baltimore. We’re able to connect through Zoom and catch up with one another, even though we may be in different states.”
Gavriel Batey, a 22-year-old student at Morgan State University, shares a similar experience. He sees his family’s gatherings today as smaller but still rooted in tradition.
“I honestly think that my family gatherings now, compared to how my grandparents’ were, aren’t too far off,” Batey said. “Of course, it used to be bigger, but with family members getting older and kids becoming adults and doing their own thing, it’s definitely gotten smaller.”
Still, he said, the elders’ family home remains central to their celebrations.
“My grandmother’s birthday was just this past week, and she had everyone over for it,” Batey said. “It doesn’t even have to be a major holiday. Any holiday, it’s always at her house. Never anyone else’s.”
Batey sees these changes as a natural part of life.
“You appreciate the times when it was big, and those memories will stay with me forever,” he said. “But life is about transitions. It’s not going to be that way forever.”
He agrees that technology now plays a major role in keeping families close.
“With so much going on in the world and people’s lives, FaceTime or Zoom lets you still connect with family members who might’ve moved away or are just busy,” he said.
Though the shape of family gatherings may change, both McCall and Batey believe the spirit behind them endures. For many, Grandma’s house remains more than a place, it’s a symbol of continuity, connection and care across generations.