Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla and I'm the
online engagement director here at Trinity Streetsville. And this week we are getting closer to
Christmas and so I thought it would be fun to sit down with some folks who have celebrated Christmas
in other places around the world and just talk about what that has looked like and how it compares
to some of our Christmas celebrations here in Canada. So I'm super happy to be sitting down
here with Naomi and Johanna. Welcome to the podcast ladies. Thank you. So maybe we'll start with you
Naomi. Can you just tell me a little bit about your background and where you were born and
how long you've been here in Canada? I'm Naomi. I was born in a town called Kulagol Fields which
is a gold mining town and near Bangalore, India. And we've been in Canada for almost 20 years now.
Okay. Wow. And what about you Johanna? Well, I'm Johanna and I've lived here for about two years.
I was born in Ottawa but I moved a lot as a kid so I've been to quite a few countries.
Okay. Yeah. How many different places have you lived? About like seven or eight.
Okay. Wow. That's a lot. Yeah. So for both of you living outside of Canada for a while,
what were your Christmas celebrations like? Did you celebrate Christmas? What about you?
Oh yeah. We celebrated Christmas a lot. I've been in India for a long time and then moved to Dubai.
We were there. So even in Dubai we did celebrate Christmas much more I think than what we did in
India. Okay. India the celebrations would start quite early. We would have choristers from different
churches coming around caroling and of course with prior notice and we would really look forward to it.
We would prepare a lot of goodies for them and then join in with the carols as they came in.
And churches also had a lot of concerts, nativities, lots of Christmas programs.
So for about 10 years we were in a gated community and there we were very few Christians as such
but it was the non-Christians who really looked forward to our Christmas programs which was done
very elaborately and these non-Christians would come forward to participate in the carols singing
and we would have the nativity, the tablo, we would most of them by non-Christian kids and we would
go around the whole colony in a flatbed truck with live animals. Oh wow. Yeah. We would have
animals on the truck and some animals walking along with us and a whole lot of people so we would
walk right around the colony singing carols and ultimately meet in a place where we would have
a program. So that was there and at home back home yes we used to prepare a lot of goodies,
share it with neighbors, friends and one thing that we really looked forward to was attending the
sunrise worship and as a tradition we always wore new clothes. Okay and was that on Christmas day?
The sunrise? Yes, yes on Christmas day. Wow. So you get right right to church not opening the
presents or the other big great church. No, no, no, right to church. Okay, wow that's great. And as you
should just like here even there we had like houses would be decorated lit up we would have a Christmas
tree so many of us would do that. Okay, yeah great. What about for you Johanna what did
Christmas look like in the different places where you lived? For me we did a lot of like I'd say
sort of the same things as most people would hear like we had the tree we had the stockings and all
of that. We'd put on Christmas music mostly like the poppy ones though so I don't really know like
the old classic carols but we would put on Christmas music and stuff and just decorate the tree
and my younger siblings would try to undecorate it as we're putting ornaments up. Okay, some
Christmas is though my grandparents came to visit and then we'd go on a trip with them to like a
different place depending on which country we're in. So one Christmas we went to Johannesburg and
we stayed there and it was a really great time and the next we went to Cape Town and we got to like
have a beachy Christmas. Oh that's good. Yeah that's what's more common for me. It's just like
Christmas in the sand versus Christmas in the snow but I'd say it's pretty similar. Yeah okay cool.
So are there any traditions that you have sort of carried from other places and are continuing
now that you're here in Canada? It's the same thing like I said we were in Dubai for many years
and even in India so Dubai was more like you would find the malls our homes like decorated
lit and we would make the same goodies things that in Dubai normally so summer months we would go
away to India. Okay. So we would really get everything ready for our Christmas cake in June.
We'd soak it so called the dry fruits a little bit in the fridge and go so we would get together to
make friends would get together to make things goodies so that continues here preparation
of goodies distribution to neighbors friends that continues and things like nativity okay we do it in
school though we're not supposed to a little bit we do we do celebrate Christmas but only this year
we've been told particularly not to use the word Christmas this year but yeah but things go on like
that and going to church yeah yeah are there any different foods that maybe you had in India or in
Dubai that you make now in Canada as well that might be different than oh yeah yeah yeah okay make a
lot see here normally it's like cookies and you know different cakes and all that so there are
different types of foods that we make here yeah okay and with you know molded the thing which they
called roast cookies which comes in the form of a flower yes yeah that we do and lots of other things
which I've learned from my mother and I continue to do it here okay well that's great yeah what about
for you Johanna for our Christmas dinners we had lamb a couple times actually okay so I've
stuck to that a bit because I quite like lamb yeah and we'd use our best dishes and stuff and
just be like a really fancy table spread and so I kind of try to replicate that for myself
since I've come to Canada okay nice um and were there any elements of Christmas in Canada that
maybe seemed strange or that you didn't understand at first I mean you mentioned already Christmas
in the snow versus Christmas in the sand yeah that's obviously quite different yeah it was different I
mean like uh I grew up watching like Christmas specials of like cartoons I'd watch and stuff so
I knew that Christmas was snowy in places of the world but I'd never experienced it first hand I
guess yeah so my first Christmas when I came here and it was cold it was fun at first but then the
snow like it lasts too long and it's the trip in it and everything so yeah I kind of like Christmas
better when you can go outside and play with your presents and everything and it's just like a nice
sunny day versus like I guess the snowy cozy feeling is good too but I do prefer the hot weather
sure yeah yeah was there anything else yeah yeah I for one look forward to a white Christmas okay
and yeah seeing snow was the first time here that's the main difference
India with Dubai there was no snow of course in 2000 we went to the holy land so that was the
first time we saw snow in Jerusalem yeah and then here of course in plentiful yeah um and was there
anything else about Christmas in Canada that seemed different to you than than what you had
experienced other places or mostly just the weather um the only thing I found difficult I think even
my husband so we've been here for the last 20 years when we first came the shocking thing was
that there was no service during Christmas church service yeah so we had to go around to a couple
of churches there's been times when we went to Scarborough to attend Christmas service because
we've been brought up like that attending service on Christmas day and we really missed it you know
even though there was a new uh Christmas eve service but we missed going to church on Christmas day
so we've been there going around and we've been attending quite a few services but a couple of
years back I think it was Pastor Ben who started the Christmas service here and then we were thrilled
that we could attend the Christmas service here at Trinity and that continues now so I'm really
happy about that yeah no that's great um and are there any Christmas traditions that you have started
since coming to Canada that maybe were different than what you had done before something new yeah
no no okay nothing new okay what about for you Johanna um for me I started um volunteering at
Christmas stuff so okay sorry um yeah the streetsville BIA has some Christmas things like Christmas in
the village and everything so last year I did it with the BIA and this year I volunteered with
just the church I did both last year but this year it was pretty much just the church I've been
volunteering with and it's been fun like leading up to Christmas I guess just getting into the spirit
and like um yeah just having a good time with the community yeah oh that's great um and what do you
have a favorite Christmas tradition that you do in in your house or or that you do um tradition is
usual Christmas lunch yeah yeah we meet up with friends okay or family family and friends and um
then of course here it's not the sunrise service so we come late go back and um for so the last
couple of years instead of having something at home we go out for lunch okay with friends and family
and it's only now since my dad and mom have passed and there's no more if not every year we would
try to go back for Christmas sure just to be with my parents yes okay wow to be with my parents yeah
and so where do you usually go for lunch do you have a usual spot uh last year it was Mandarin
okay yeah and this year we were planning something else okay but I think we're going to Newcastle to
my son's place oh nice this year okay that's great what about you Johanna any favorite Christmas
traditions yeah um candy canes I love them a lot I eat them all the time I would eat them year round
but they're harder to find when they're not in season yeah so Christmas time is really great for me
because there's candy canes in like every store and I get to just gorge on them yeah okay that's great
what I like doing most is I know the kids in school they look forward to the season as well
yeah so lots of arts and crafts yeah and I also like going to all the visiting all the Christmas
bazaars yeah so I look to it like what they have every week so that I could go and see because they
have a lot of handmade stuff yeah yeah yeah yeah one of my favorite things when I was living home
with with my parents is my mom and I and and sometimes my sister would come along and we would go to
these different Christmas craft fairs and markets yeah just to see all of the different things that
people have made and of course all of the yummy sweets that people can create as well yeah yeah
yeah oh I also started um ice skating around this season okay you know I didn't get to before
right being hot and everything yeah but um uh yeah I really sucked at it at first like I felt a lot
yeah but it's it's just really fun and it's so much different than roller skating because I've done
that but it's just I don't know and um at Celebration Square they had it last year and I believe there
was like a massive tree and yeah I just like chased my friends around it it was really fun oh that's
great yeah um do you have any favorite Christmas memories a story from something that happened
in the past that that you really like I know for me like I said yeah going to those Christmas
markets with my family and also I've the church that I grew up in didn't do a candle light Christmas
eve service but the church where my parents are attending now they they do this Christmas service
with the candle light um and so that's something I've really come to appreciate too and I know a
lot of other folks appreciate that as well so even here I we do go to different carol services
wherever we are invited or we know that we are welcome we do attend different carol services
and the best part is I like that uh silent night at the end with candle lights yeah yeah
that's really special it's really special very special yeah um for me um something that I really
like about Christmas that I remember it was the trips with my grandparents because I don't get
to see them all the time and it's great to just have that like one part of the year where it's like
everyone's united and we get to see each other for the first time in a while so yeah yeah Christmas
is also yeah it's a good time for family and just getting together and yeah seeing some of those people
that you don't get to see normally that's what we used to do in India also okay with a lot of family
yeah and um yeah we do have some family here we do meet them mm-hmm well that's great and another
thing I look forward to in during Christmas here Christmas and Easter is the musical that they have
in church on the Queensway oh okay yes yeah it's really worth seeing yeah okay oh that's great
good well thank you both very much ladies it's been really fun to get to dive into the Christmas
spirit a little bit this morning um yeah and so for those who are watching hopefully you've also
been able to get into the Christmas spirit with us um and maybe you can share some of your own
favorite Christmas memories and traditions we would love to hear from and we will see you again
for next week's episode of Trinity Talks goodbye you