by Cathy Kotzé

This is our seventeenth Christmas in Canada.

In Nanaimo on Vancouver Island where we live the snow is seldom a part of Christmas, but we also experienced it in 2009.

Christmas in Canada means cheerfully decorated houses, both inside and outside. Our house’s inside looks like a gingerbread house: lights, quite a few Christmas trees, a miniature town, and several Bethlehem stalls with fine porcelain figures.

My granddaughter and I bake sweet biscuits, Romany Creams, ginger biscuits and more – just as I did in South Africa with our children. Our Christmas meal is a South African feast of braaied meat, sweet potato, baked potato, rice and vegetables.

Canadians have an open hand over Christmas and I doubt that there is one little child here that does not receive a Christmas gift. Canadians donate thousands of brand-new gifts to charity organisations that hand these out throughout the country.

We also make food and cash donations to food banks. When one reaches our age, your needs are less. We, as with many Canadians, buy small gifts for each other and rather make donations to charity organisations.

Unfortunately, Santa also became more important than Jesus in Canada; but fortunately, there are still Christmas Carollers here who come sing Christmas carols at home.

A blessed Festive Season for all at Worldwide.