In 2016 Jasper welcomed two Syrian refugee families. The two families were among more than 38,000 other Syrians the Liberal government resettled in 2016. Below is a story written by Reham Al Azem and her experience enjoying her first Christmas in Canada.聽
Over the past two weeks I have had the opportunity to see firsthand what Christmas is all about and was thoroughly impressed by Jasper鈥檚 overwhelming generosity. What really drew my attention was the significance聽given to Christmas day.聽
It is not just about a party and eating turkey. It鈥檚 about sharing and supporting others.
I experienced this firsthand when I worked as a volunteer for Santas Anonymous at the McCready Centre. 聽I had the pleasure of working alongside other volunteers that contributed hours upon hours of their time to bring a little more love and joy to Jasperites who might not otherwise have all the 鈥渢rimmings鈥� of Christmas.
The donated presents were prepared for families who aren鈥檛 as fortunate. The presents were all brand new. 聽There were many valuable things, such as a jacket from North Face, Celine Dion perfume, and many more beautiful items, which I had the pleasure of wrapping myself. 聽聽
People were working together and checking the boxes to make sure the gifts had been properly prepared.聽 They tried not to forget anything. 聽Each box contained wrapped gifts as well as some that were unwrapped.聽 This would give the parents the opportunity to wrap their children鈥檚 gifts themselves.聽
Each box contained聽Christmas wrap, colourful bags, tags, green and red ribbon, even sticker tape.聽 The boxes had everything needed to make Christmas complete.
The most respectful thing that I noticed was that each family remained anonymous. The gifts and families were identified only by numbers, preserving the privacy and dignity for each individual who received the presents. 聽
Over the holidays I also had the privilege to attend activities at Alpine Summit Senior鈥檚 Lodge.聽At the Lodge there was a violin concert and a choir as well as visits with Santa Claus.聽The purpose was to ensure everyone was included, even those with no family.聽 No one was left out.聽
The Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives also had an interesting event called The Festival of Trees.
Individuals and businesses in town contributed decorated trees that were offered up for auction.聽The auction was created to raise money to support the museum.聽I saw a tree there call 鈥淒ark Sky.鈥澛營 decided to bid on it.聽It was a tree that had been decorated by a hiking group and I loved it.聽
Unfortunately I was outbid by someone else, but in true Jasper fashion later that day I found it sitting on my doorstep. You can only imagine how surprised I was. It turns out Kathleen Waxer, director of Community and Family Services, had brought it to us to help us enjoy our first Christmas here in Canada.聽
It was a wonderful gesture and we were happy to display it in our home, especially because we don鈥檛 normally have a tree.聽聽
Perhaps my favourite experience this Christmas was to see the children at Jasper Elementary School as they brought food to school.
Each child brought a non-perishable food item from home and together they created an assembly line through the school to help stock the Jasper Food Bank鈥檚 shelves.
Later that week I volunteered at the food bank.聽 There I saw the shelves bursting with food as a direct result of the children鈥檚 efforts. I am sure they will carry this small act with them as they get older and become well-rounded and caring adults.聽
This Christmas I learned it鈥檚 not just about the presents under the tree, nor is about the lights or the red hats. Christmas is truly about kindness and caring for others and it鈥檚 a Christmas I won鈥檛 soon forget.
Reham Al Azem special to the 51暗网
