CALGARY–For Helen Jusic, picking a favourite Christmas memory is no easy task. Her childhood holidays were filled with carols, twinkling lights, and the sound of bells calling people to midnight Mass. One thing she can determine with certainty, though, is the best gift she ever received—an orange.
Jusic, 88, came to Canada 63 years ago from Austria, where she found refuge after escaping from then communist-ruled Croatia. Her childhood was difficult, she says, as her family struggled with unemployment and she began working at the age of 12.
But she has many cherished memories of Christmas.
“Christmas Eve was so happy,” she says. “First praying and then singing Christmas songs.”
At Jusic’s home, Christmas Eve began with the family gathering by 5 p.m. to offer a prayer, followed by a homemade dinner that often featured blood sausages. The evening unfolded to the sound of carols sung by young boys on the street, and later, the ringing of church bells announcing the midnight service.
Jusic would doll up for the occasion in one of the only two dresses she possessed–the other was reserved for summer. She shared a pair of shoes with one of her sisters, which meant she had to return home swiftly after mass so her sister could wear them to the second service. By then, Jusic was already in her early 20s.
Jusic married quickly to move out of her sister’s bachelor’s suite, where she had to sleep on two suitcases covered with a sheet because of the limited space. “I married more for convenience, but I learned to love him,” she says. They later had a daughter.
Coming from different cultures, they had to accommodate both traditions—Christian and Muslim. Sometimes Jusic would accompany her husband to the mosque, and other times he would go with her to church. If they went to Christmas Mass, she says, they would sit in the back.
Jusic preserved some traditions, including serving cabbage rolls as part of the Christmas dinner. Her home also featured a classic Christmas tree and, in keeping with her Catholic faith, a Nativity scene—a depiction of Jesus’s birth.
Her husband passed away 20 years ago. A proud great-grandmother of two boys, Jusic now lives in a residence run by Silvera for Seniors in northeast Calgary. Describing her family, she notes that both her daughter and grandson speak Croatian, and her two great-grandchildren are learning the language.
On a regular Monday afternoon in December, Jusic is wearing snowman earrings, a crucifix pendant, and a wreath pin–charming symbols of her Christmas spirit. But she says the way people celebrate the occasion has changed over the years.
“Now it’s kind of sad, but they don’t say ‘Merry Christmas,’ just ‘Happy holidays’,” she says. “It’s not only holidays, it’s Christmas time. That’s what it is.”
‘Keep the Family Close’: Donna Kemp
For Calgary-born Donna Kemp, recalling Christmas memories brings back a nerve-wracking encounter with a spider in Australia when she was in her 20s.She and her roommate were determined to have a Christmas tree to celebrate the holiday “in our own North American way,” she says. While holding the tree and waiting for her roommate to fetch a base, she spotted a spider crawling close to her hand. But she didn’t let go–she feared the spider would hide somewhere in the bedroom if she dropped the tree. Luckily, a local man came to the rescue and trapped the spider in a matchbox.
Nearly 60 years later, the episode is still part of Kemp’s Christmas memories—just one of many that “are really good,” she says.
She remembers how carollers would knock on doors and sing Christmas songs. Like today, most homes displayed Christmas lights along the eaves and a tree visible through the front window for passersby to see. But inflatable Santa Clauses were not common then, she quips.
Falling asleep on Christmas Eve was difficult as a child due to the excitement, Kemp says, as she and her younger brother wondered endlessly what presents they would find under the Christmas tree the next morning. On Christmas day, the family would come together and open presents.
“We weren’t rich or anything, but we always had lots of presents at Christmas under the tree, so it was lots of fun,” Kemp says.
The best Christmas gift she ever received was a blue bicycle from her parents when she was 9.
After opening presents and eating breakfast, families would go to visit their neighbours, she recalls, and sometimes exchange gifts with them. “We were close with our neighbours in those days, quite more than now,” she says. “It was a nice time.”
For Kemp, 84, who now lives in the same seniors’ residence as Jusic, Christmas is family time. She says smartphones and technology have changed the way people relate to each other, especially when spending time with loved ones, so connecting with family is her holiday tip.
‘Giving and Helping’: Victor Svinthlassen
For Victor Svinthlassen, Christmas traditions in his childhood carried a Danish flair, and sometimes a touch of worry. His Calgary-born uncles served in the last years of World War II, making many family gatherings a blend of joy, nostalgia, and hopeful pleas for their safe return.
His father was Danish, and his mother a second-generation Calgarian. At Christmas, they decorated the tree with Danish flags and enjoyed a variety of traditional Danish foods, which his mother learned to prepare for his father.
Despite often facing financial constraints, he says his parents would find a way to make Christmas memorable.
“During the war things were quite tight for us, but we always had wonderful gifts from our parents and lots of food on the table,” Svinthlassen says. “We all had wonderful Christmases together.”
Svinthlassen is now 82, and lives in the same residence as Jusic and Kemp. He advises people to return to “the tradition of giving and helping people in lots of ways” during Christmas, rather than focusing on expensive gifts.
“Just try to be thoughtful of others and be happy,” is his advice.
