A Quebec Christmas

There are many things that I love about Christmas in Quebec. Maybe it is the old world charm that comes from living here, or maybe the love of food and the joie du vivre. Either way, Christmas is magical.



It could also be little things like making cookies with the wee man (our first batch of gingerbread was not so successful, but thanks to our Nova Scotia friends we now have wonderful recipes for sugar cookies).





Most people receive Christmas cards at this time of year, but was has been nice has been receiving emails from people that I normally don't exchange cards with, but we've had a chance to talk and share memories online.

My old Nova Scotia friend, Eleanor, reminded me about our Christmas tree, which was a legend in itself. Every year my father would search the forests of Nova Scotia for the "best pine tree. He would then rig up our Electrolux vaccuum to spray paint it silver. My mother had these huge Christmas decorations that were so incredibly beautiful and she would put on loads of tinsel. Our tree was nothing short of magical and we had loads of visitors at Christmas, but I'm sure that a lot of them just came to see "the tree".

I remember sledding with the MacDonalds at Christmas on "the hill." The best sled was the old wooden one. We would fly down an ice covered road and sometimes land face first in the crust coated, hard snow banks at the bottom. What was a few facial scratches compared to the fun we were having. Then having hot chocolate in the MacDonald's kitchen.

These were the good old days and ones that I will remember and cherish forever.

I also remember Christmases with new friends in Quebec. Times with Mona and Dawson, the Noyes, and with our neighbour Jennifer whom we usually share New Year's Eve drinks. This year we are having Christmas lunch with Romanian friends and having a traditional Romanian Christmas feast. Bring on new traditions.

In these bizarre times who knows what this year will bring. We can only hold on to what we have, our families, our friends, our memories.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Suzanne, Martin and Shelby