Christmas and family time.

Embracing one’s cultural background can be difficult at times. For me, I’ve always grappled with the question of what it really means to be Polish. Does this involve a high caloric intake of pierogies, kielbasa and copious amounts of vodka? (Of course not!) But apart from a country’s cuisine what cultural clues make you who you are?

The holidays can be an important time to embrace one’s traditions and remember what your family has gone through to get to where you are today. My grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, obviously struggles with what she does and does not remember. But ask her to tell you a story about when she was young at Christmas time and her eyes light up and its as if it were only yesterday. My mother also likes to tell me stories about her childhood Christmases. I've never understood why you would have carps swimming in the bathtub waiting to be prepped for Christmas Eve dinner but apparently its a Polish thing. There are cultural lessons to be learned here but also a family tradition to be passed down. No two Polish-Canadian families may be alike but we all share a holy wafer before the Christmas Eve dinner. And even if we may not have a carp swimming in our bathtub there are lots of Polish and Canadian delicacies waiting to be consumed.

Who you are is more than just where your family came from. But whether we like to admit it or not, our family has a huge role in shaping us and making us the people we are today. It’s easy to frown at the bad jokes made after one too many drinks with Christmas dinner but its more interesting to look beyond those jokes and remember your family’s story. The Canadian-Story especially is one of immigration and old family traditions. Ask to hear some of these stories around the Christmas tree this year. People love talking about themselves and who knows, you might learn something amazing about your family and yourself.