Holiday traditions

Greg Selinger,
Premier of Manitoba

Season’s Greetings Manitoba!

So much of the significance of the holiday season comes from traditions. As families grow, traditions blend with each other and new ones are adopted. Every year, my family and I cherish gathering with family and friends. One of our favourite gatherings is the French Canadian tradition of Christmas Eve known as the réveillon.  Our family gets together for a feast of tourtière in the evening and at that time, we also exchange gifts. There is something quite magical about the warmth of the festivities while it is cold and snowy outside.
Christmas Day is spent with our family from Winnipeg getting together for a traditional dinner of turkey and all the trimmings. I enjoy this special time with family and friends and look forward to the entire holiday season. It’s a time of the year when our Manitoba communities do so much to celebrate and reach out to each other. I am pleased to help serve the Salvation Army Christmas dinner, which I now consider to be an important part of my holiday traditions. Of course, the season kicks off for us in early December with the annual Legislative Building Open House.

Sam Katz, City of Winnipeg Mayor

The holiday season is a special time of year and more than anything, spending the season doing winter activities with my two daughters, Ava and Kiera, is my favourite holiday tradition.

One of our most cherished outdoor activities, among the many that Winnipeg offers throughout the season to enjoy, is skating outside at The Forks and then warming up by the fire and sipping hot cocoa. Lacing up skates and piling on scarves, hats and mitts to have fun as a family outside is truly a timeless way to celebrate the season we are blessed to experience in the heart of the continent.

Craig Heisinger,
senior vice-president of True North Sports and Entertainment and general manager of the Manitoba Moose

We have a family of six—my wife and our four boys. As kids get older, you spend fewer hours together but during the holidays, more so than anything, I love spending time with them. My favourite holiday tradition would just be spending Christmas Eve with my wife and boys. We also visit the whole family—both of our parents’ houses. I just love the bright lights and the calmness of the season.

Jay Oliver,
from “Jay & Billie Jo” on 102.3 Clear FM

One year I remember waking up hours before anyone else in the house—it could easily have been the middle of the night. I grabbed my little brother and figured the two of us should open our presents. Now, I would have been just old enough to read the names on the presents so we ripped into our respective gifts—everything from new clothes to toys. The only problem was we were about a week too early—it wasn’t Christmas morning yet! Guess I was old enough to read our names, but not old enough to read a calendar! I’m pretty sure Mom re-wrapped everything and we acted “surprised” when opening them the second time.

Both my brother and step-father have passed away over the years, so now my mom and I continue a tradition we started about seven years ago. We still have a “white Christmas” but instead of the freezing cold we travel to a warm destination (usually Cuba) for our very own “white sandy Christmas.” Neither of us seems to mind getting sand in our stockings!

Glenn Tinley,
publisher, Winnipeg Men

My holiday memories go back to growing up in the country and having all of my cousins, aunts and uncles come over to the house to go snowmobiling on Christmas Eve. We would start at about 4 o’clock and not stop until well after midnight, including a great holiday dinner. The next night, we would go over to one of our relative's and start all over again. We always had lots of snow and great times. To this day, I miss that.

Rick Frost,
CEO, The Winnipeg Foundation

Christmas means family to me. When my kids were young, I was always first down to the tree on Christmas morning while the kids waited breathlessly at the top of the stairs to be summoned and I would call out ,“Wow, Santa has been here and you should see what’s here.” With that, the kids would come flying down the stairs and into the living room, just so excited. Now they are adults but the tradition holds. I go first and call back, “Wow, Santa has been here and you should see what‘s here.” With that, they all pile into the living room and Christmas truly begins. I can hardly wait until my two little granddaughters are old enough to stand excitedly outside the door and wait for Granddad to call out, “Wow.....” Merry Christmas to one and all.

What are your traditions? Let us know in the comments section below!