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The Canadian Press
The Christmas spirit lives on as hundreds of Canadians give the gift of giving
The most wonderful time has come in a not-so-wonderful year and Canadians from coast to coast are not letting the pandemic put a damper on their Christmas spirit. From cooking specialty dishes to delivering early holiday baskets, many have found creative ways to celebrate while still in the throes of the second wave of COVID-19. In Iqaluit, Nunavut, Sheila Flaherty cooked a piece of polar bear meat, or nanuq in Inuktitut, to serve her family on Christmas Day. “It’s the most delicious red meat,” he said. “It is a very delicate meat with a delicate flavor”. Flaherty had to cut the bone to fit in his slow cookers, using a roasting pan to brown the sides of the thigh. He braised the meat in tomato sauce and cola, serving with steamed buns, tarts and a crown cake. Flaherty, an Inuk chef and entrepreneur, harvested the animal in September outside Iqaluit. It was his first polar bear catch. She usually flies to Ottawa at Christmas to see her son and father, but she will spend it with her husband’s family up north this year. “My father is 87 … and Christmas is really important to him. He really misses us.” “But we are comforting ourselves and taking refuge in comfort: which is cooking and baking.” Alex Watts, a former homeless man, spends time with his family in Vancouver. Every year, Watts helps others in Vancouver’s impoverished Downtown Eastside have the kind of Christmas he would have wished for when he was homeless. As part of her Hope And Love For You event, she is giving away bag lunches, gifts and cards to those who would otherwise receive nothing. Watts managed to bring baskets full of food, toys, touches, gloves and scarves to 13 families after getting close. to churches and individuals for donations. Delivered the last one on Tuesday. “Sure, I miss it. But this is only temporary,” Watts said in an interview about the COVID-19 restrictions affecting his usual tradition of helping others on Christmas Day. The first time in a long time, and looking forward to sitting down with his family for dinner, Watts said. One of the highlights of her day is being able to spend it with her two-year-old son, she added. I am a father for the first time in sobriety, so I can spend Christmas Day with my little one and be there when he opens his presents in the morning. That’s very special to me, “Watts said. It got through this holiday season as hundreds of volunteers worked to provide donated food, gifts and clothing in record numbers. The Edmonton Christmas Office celebrated its 80th anniversary by providing holiday meals to 45,000 people. . “We saw a 15 percent increase (in families needing help), which was unprecedented for us. We see an increase of two to five percent year over year, “said charity spokeswoman Katherine Stavropoulos. Mohan Thomas of Mississauga, Ontario, usually congregates with family members from other parts of the province to attend Christmas Mass in midnight at Merciful Redeemer Parish. This year, however, he attended church alone and was able to make a reservation for the church’s Christmas Day communion service, which was booked in minutes online. People were guided for a few minutes at a time to participate in the service, which Thomas said was “There has to be some way to practice your faith, otherwise people will lose hope,” he said. Religious ceremonies are limited to 10 people indoors in Ontario’s Peel region, making it impossible for the church to celebrate a full Mass on Christmas Day. Owen Keenan, the church’s pastor, says hundreds of people usually attend, but this year only it will take place virtually. An executive at Stanfield’s Ltd., it has been a grueling year that has involved major changes in your company. The factory in Truro, NS, best known for its underwear, switched to protective clothing for frontline healthcare workers. It had produced more than three million protective gowns at the end of October. In the days leading up to Christmas, Stanfield teamed up with 20 employees to load $ 1.5 million worth of clothing and underwear onto trucks for delivery to the Salvation Army central depot in Toronto. From there, the garments are delivered to homeless shelters across the country. “I wanted to provide clothing for the backs and butts of more people who may be in need this year … largely due to COVID-19 and job loss,” said Rev. Kyle Wagner, rector of Christ Church Anglican Church in Dartmouth, NS, said that having Christmas services online feels strange, but is necessary with the virus still circulating. “It feels a little strange. There must be some sadness,” he said. Wagner said he could still carry on his Christmas Eve tradition of seeing the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but it was a change of pace for someone used to working that day. “It’s the first Christmas that I didn’t have to work, so it really was kind of early morning,” he said. It is the first time that its historic church, built in 1817, has closed on Christmas Eve since the Halifax explosion in 1917. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec.25, 2020.— With files from Emma Tranter in Iqaluit , Camille Bains and Nick Wells in Vancouver, Denise Paglinawan in Toronto and Michael Tutton in Halifax ——— This story was produced with financial assistance from Facebook and the Canadian Press News Fellowship. Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press
