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.

Christmas Movies

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. What are you watching?

The Classics:

These are the movies that have been around since the beginning of time. Your grandmother watched them when she was young, that’s how old they are. And no matter how many time you re-watch these classics it wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without George Bailey and his guardian angel Clarence. James Stewart plays the suicidal George Bailey who is shown what life would have been like had he never existed. This film set a lot of Hollywood standards and made Jimmy Stewart a household name.

Miracle on 34^th Street (1947)

Edmund Gwenn stars as the loveable Kris Kringle who convinces Susan and her cynical mother Ms Walker, played by Maureen O’Hara that he is the real Santa. Throw in a little romance between Ms. Walker and Fred Gaily who helps arrange a formal hearing for Santa and you too will be believe in the magic behind Christmas.

White Christmas (1954)

Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye star as a successful song-and-dance team who become romantically involved with a sister act team. They team up to save the failing Vermont Inn of their former commanding general. You’ll learn the importance of falling in love, doing good for others and everything you ever wanted to know about the magic of snow.

Claymation and Animation Magic:

These are the films that make you feel like a kid again. And as all good Christmas films would have it there are carols for all the films. The 60s held some sort of magic that could only be described with the use of puppets and animation. It’s no surprise that Tim Burton lands in the mix.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970)

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

Frosty the Snowman (1969)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

So don't be a Grinch and tell me what you like to watch during the Christmas season.

Ms. Knope and Lil' Sebastian by Lucy Knisley

I'm a huge fan of Lucy Knisley and in case you haven't read her books or checked out her webcomics then all I have to say is "You're welcome."because you probably clicked on one of those links.

An oldie but a goodie

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

I wasn’t going to read the next book for my book club but something made me go to the used bookstore and try to find a copy of Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone and when I found it – it was on. I had under a week to finish a 658 page paperback novel and after reading the first chapter, I knew I could do it.

To say that I liked this book is an understatement. I loved everything about it, especially the family saga in the unconventional setting of war torn Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It all starts with a lovely Hindu girl named Sister Mary Joseph Praise, that’s right, she’s a Catholic nun. And on top of that, she’s living in Africa and she’s pregnant – with twins.

The story is told from the perspective of Marion Stone, one of the twins. “Born in Africa, living in exile in America, then returning at last to Africa…proof that geography is destiny.” Marion and his brother Shiva are raised by the hospital where they were born but more specifically by Hema and Ghosh, doctors who worked with Sister Mary. Spoiler Alert: Sister Mary doesn’t survive the childbirth and the twins are left orphans from the first chapter of this book. But what about the father, you may ask? That’s too good to give out.

“I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art.” From the Hippocratic Oath all physicians must swear to when entering into the field of practicing medicine. There is another oath or 11^th commandment that the doctors in this novel learn the hard way: “Thou shall not operate on the day of a patient’s death.” The art of medicine is one I doubt I could ever perform. The decisions needed to be made in order to save a person’s life or end it are some of the most difficult decisions the characters of Cutting for Stone must make. But what’s even more difficult for them are the complicated relationships they have when they are alive and healthy.

Not only are the dramas of these characters enthralling but so too is their landscape. Ethiopia plays an important part in this novel. The political conflicts that arise between Eritrea and Ethiopia are paralleled in the personal dramas of its people. How can people seem so different from each other when they are all so fundamentally alike? How can people hate each other so much when they forgot what they were fighting for to begin with? The endings in love and war are always unforgiving and unfair but apparently that’s the way it goes.

In the end, all things come full circle. We may lose things, places, each other but we can never escape our destiny. What that destiny is for Marion only he can figure out, but it’s deeply rooted in the soil of Africa.

Literature from Around the World

When I was a child, my parents would assign me intellectual projects for the summer. I remember one such summer I got a lot of research done on Cleopatra and delivered my findings on a long car ride. 

This summer I am assigning my own project and will attempt to read as many novels from around the world as possible. I may or may not be cheating by including authors my book club will be reading or books that I had planned to ready anyway, but I figure I'm reading something so it's all the same thing. 

Here are the first ten countries (I must apologize for clumping all the countries of Africa together in one massive mess). I need some recommendations and of course if you think the authors I have chosen just do not reflect their country well enough, by all means give me someone else to read. 

I start with Canada, because that is my home and native land. Michael Ondaatje fits perfectly because he's coming up in book club and I have never read The English Patient so that will be a first. 

Next up are those Americans to the south and though I have tried and failed on many occasions I think it is time for me to give Stephen King another chance. He is one of the best selling authors in the world. In terms of sales the options were hard to choose from but I have read one too many Danielle Steel's novels for my liking.

Now I need some help as I venture down the continental divide. I would love to read a good Mexican novel and maybe something from Colombia or Brazil? 

Moving across the sea I have chosen Sjón from Iceland. I'm really excited to dip into some Icelandic contemporary folk tales. 

Then I'm skipping over most of Europe and going home to my motherland of Poland. I'm going to re-read my favourite novel that I last read in high school. Written by Antoni Libera, Madame is "a novel about Poland during the grim years of Soviet-controlled mediocrity which nonetheless sparkles with light and warmth." 

Sweden lucked out and got included only because the next author for book club is Jonas Jonasson and his novel about The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared. 

I can't decide who to read from Africa. This is challenging as there are numerous countries, nationalities and untranslated authors to chose from. I was thinking of Wilbur Smith but I'm worried I may get a skewed look at Africa. 

And last but not least, as I skip over Russia, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, all of South East Asia I end my literary journey in Japan. Haruki Murakami will hopefully begin the next leg on my literary journey into the Asian countries and I can work backwards through all those countries I missed.