Everyone’s Christmas is different. Some don’t celebrate Christmas entirely, while others
celebrate different versions of the holiday with varying traditions, foods, celebrations, and
decorations. Learning about how those from different backgrounds celebrate their version
of Christmas is vital in our ever-globalizing society. I was able to interview a few individuals
about what Christmas was like for them, and how their identity ties into how they celebrate!
The first interviewee I got to speak to was Bea Aguinea, a seventeen-year-old Canadian!
I got to speak to her a lot about what Christmas means to her family. She stated that to her,
Christmas “is just simply spending quality time together”, and that it “just shows genuine care and
appreciation towards your loved ones”. Bea highlighted that Christmas to many can be a
wonderful time to make memories, to show appreciation and gratitude towards those you love.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, finding time to spend with your loved ones and
showing them how much you care is always good! Bea’s response highlighted that there is
something special about this time of the year that calls people to care more than they do the
other eleven months of the year. I wonder, what could it be?
The second interviewee I got to speak to was Imonitie Omosun, a seventeen-year-old
Nigerian Canadian. She states that “Christmas is very important to [her] family” and that it is a
time for her family to gather and celebrate Jesus’ birth. When I asked her how her identity
impacted Christmas she stated that they “eat [their] cultural foods”, and “listen to [their] cultural
music” and that it is a time for them all to “come together”. I love how Imonitie captured how her
own identity and culture seeped into Christmas in its special way. Her family did not
sacrifice their culture to celebrate Christmas and did it in a way that involved their identities!
The last person I got to interview was my sister! We got to talk quite in-depth about
what Christmas has looked like in our household and how our identity as Filipino Canadians has
impacted it. Khariz Dabalos, 17, acknowledges that there are a lot of traditions she experiences
that “are more, like, westernized” such as “putting up a tree, having Christmas dinner”. Like
Imonitie, she also states that the food at the celebrations is one of the largest ways she sees
her culture at Christmas. This interview was quite interesting because I got to hear about how
living in Canada has impacted her experience for this holiday. While pieces of our culture can
stick through, many aspects of Christmas are borrowed from other cultures, places, and pieces
in history.
No matter what Christmas means to you, we all have our experiences with our time
around these holidays one way or another. This year, maybe focus on the community of the
holidays! Make plans! Send that card you were thinking of writing! And as Imonitie suggested,
don’t shy away from your own identity and how it plays into the holidays. Each one of us is
unique and celebrates uniquely. Lastly, acknowledge others’ cultures and traditions. Not
everyone celebrates the same and acknowledging that is the first step to understanding their
Christmas (and then them!) more!
