It’s the smallest of Christmas gifts, but undoubtedly the best of the season.
“La nieve, the snow. It’s so beautiful.”
Her smile widens as she speaks, her eyes alight as they drift towards the window.
For the first time in her life, Maria Gisela will experience a white Christmas.
“I cried the first time I saw snow falling,” Gisela laughed. “It was such an emotional moment.”
Five months ago, she and her daughter were living in Venezuela. Now they’re getting ready for their first Christmas in Canada.
“I love the way everything is Christmas-related,” Gisela beamed. “Even clothing, even earrings. Everything is about Christmas, I love that.”
It’s nothing like the Christmases she experienced growing up in Venezuela.
“We don’t have snow, we don’t have Santa Claus himself,” she explained, showing off a painted plate depicting the nativity scene. “We have the nativity. That’s what we place in the house.”
A traditionally Catholic country, the Christmas season is a very important time in Venezuela; but it’s not the morning of the 25th that generates all the excitement.
“We celebrate on the 24th. We usually gather all the family together and have a big dinner.”
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Big is an understatement.
Last year, Gisela says she fed roughly 200 people.
“Every visitor who comes to our home gets something to eat.” As she says this, the smell of arepas — a traditional Venezuelan breakfast food — wafts from the oven. Despite her new surroundings, Gisela is insistent on continuing the tradition.
“I have received so much support from people in the city and from the Venezuelan community that is already here. So we are planning to gather together and have a big dinner.”
This year will be very different for Gisela and her family, but it’s one she looks forward to.
It’s a chance to relive old traditions, to create new ones and to experience a white Christmas.
“Even though there are differences between the two countries, it’s those differences that are also very special for me because most of them I haven’t experienced before.”
She smiled as she spoke, her voice dancing with excitement.
“Even though I’m not in my country, I am going to have a very special Christmas.”
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