SALT LAKE CITY — Most large social gatherings — from parties to weddings to religious gatherings — have been canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
That includes Bat Mitzvahs as well, but Saturday in Salt Lake City Sophie Kolb’s went on all the same.
It started by the service still going on with just her mother, father and brother present, but that didn’t mean it was alone.
Dozens of families watched on over a live stream, still participating in all of the ceremony.
“We still sang and we still got up and prayed like we normally do, and it was in our own home and it really wasn’t that much different," one watcher told FOX 13.
That wasn’t the end of the celebration though, because as a surprise to Sophie, at the end of the live stream everyone packed up their cars with signs and gifts and lined up around the corner to surprise her.
“I had no clue… And then all the sudden I saw my two really good friends on the back of a truck and I’m like, 'Wait, hold up,'" she described. “I wasn’t expecting this. It’s just so cool that I can see all of my friends who watched it and it’s cool how all my friends got in contact with everybody.”
While Sophie couldn’t have quite the celebration that she planned, she had a message for everyone else going through similar things right now.
“It’s a good thing to kind of brighten up people's day in a time like this," she said. "If you are dealing with something that you have to miss that's really important to you, just know The other people are going through it and that people care about you.”
