Christmas: three families open their doors to us

Three generations under the same roof

Portneuf

For the Lemire-Gagnon-Thibault family, happiness goes through the family. A happiness so complete that eight years ago, Marilou and Francis chose to live with her parents, Yolande and Gérald. The two couples found the perfect house to adopt this way of life in Portneuf, a small municipality located 50 km from Quebec, in an area they called L’Écoferme des Générations. Together, they set up an organic vegetable farm there. Three new little pleasures have also come to enlarge the family circle: Juliette, Charlotte and Arnaud. Since every day here is savored with the family, it will be the same at Christmas!

For us, family is…
The center of our existence. We are together in life and in death. In our intergenerational house, everyone has their place and if one of us is absent, the whole balance is disturbed.

The holidays are…
A break from work, a time when we devote ourselves entirely to the children. We can’t wait to start putting up the Christmas decorations at the end of September!

We will celebrate…
Here, because this house is made to welcome and accommodate everyone. Uncles, aunts, cousins ​​and friends will stay several days with us.

A dish that will certainly be on the table…
The list is long, because everyone cares about their gourmet pleasure. Among other things, there will be cipaille and egg aspics.

A tradition to which we never derogate…
Wake up the kids at night to spy on Santa Claus. Hidden on the stairs, they watch him drop off the presents, eat a few cookies and then disappear into the night. Seeing their amazed faces is worth all the gold in the world.

The place of religion during the Holidays…
We are not religious but on the other hand, we maintain a certain spirituality around the magic of Christmas.

The values ​​we want to pass on to children…
The sense of family! Obviously, they develop it with our way of life.

A wish for next year…
May the happiness of being together continue and may we offer each other moments of rest, because between the farm and the children, we work very hard.

Keithy Antoine, 50, and his children, Kaji, 18 and Nawej, 16, his mother, Marie-José Maxi, 76.

Bonds stronger than anything

Montreal

The holidays at the Antoine’s take place in a joyful mix of Quebec and Haitian traditions, since it was from the “Pearl of the Antilles” that Keithy arrived in Quebec, with her parents, in 1974. She had only two years. His brothers, Joël and Pierre, then his children, Kaji and Nawej, were born here, but the family has never abandoned its Creole culture…nor its good food! Keithy now offers a showcase for Afro-Quebec fashion designers in its Boutique Espace Urbain, located on Plaza Saint-Hubert, in Montreal.

For us, family is…
A comforting space where we recharge and draw love.

The holidays are…
The opportunity to reconnect with each other. Time flies and sometimes keeps us away, so we take advantage of the holidays to find ourselves in a festive atmosphere. Tree, Christmas stockings, music, gifts: we go all out!

Above all, we will celebrate…
1^er January, because it is also Haiti’s national holiday, which marks the moment when the country gained its independence. Many Haitian families celebrate Christmas and this event at the same time.

A dish that will certainly be on the table…
Joumou soup, a Haitian specialty made with giraumont [courge typique des Antilles] with vegetables, meat and lots of spices. Our mother prepares an indecent amount of food several days in advance. It’s her way of telling us how much she loves us.

A tradition to which we never derogate…
Santa ! Since my dad died, it’s Joël who takes on this role every year. He inherited our father’s big voice, perfect for embodying the character. (Laughs)

The place of religion during the Holidays… With a catholic father and a protestant mother, we grew up in the idea that we can line up where it makes us feel good. Bathing in this antinomy opened our minds a lot.

The songs we cover every year…
We return to draw on our family heritage with a mix of Quebec, evangelical and traditional Haitian music.

The values ​​we want to pass on to children…
The importance of traditions, because they are great opportunities to cultivate love.

A memorable Christmas or New Year’s Day souvenir…
Big squabbles sometimes broke out. It hurts to tear yourself apart at such a sensitive time as the holidays, but that’s how it is: a word had to be released. After the storm always come softer and benevolent moments.

A wish that we will make for next year…
The world is changing in a funny way with social networks. But we want to continue to come together physically, because nothing equals contact with loved ones.

Rébecca Kopka, 35, Enrico Vigneault, 41, and their children, Logan, 9, Philippe, 7, and Claudia, 3. With the Marda-Gulieva family, from Vinnytsia, Ukraine: Samira Gulieva, 38, Youssef Marda, 31, and their son, Aslan, 11

At the crossroads of two worlds

Sainte-Julie

The Vigneault-Kopkas are getting ready to celebrate a Christmas that will be out of the ordinary with the Marda-Gulievas, a Ukrainian family they welcomed into their home in Sainte-Julie last summer. After spending six weeks with their “adopted” family, Youssef, Samira and Aslan Marda-Gulieva found accommodation in Chambly. This will not prevent the two clans from meeting around the tree to celebrate this year lived under the sign of mutual aid and sharing.

For us, family is…
A clan, which also includes the friends who have come into our lives. We are there for each other.

The holidays are…
A time dedicated to caring and love.

We will celebrate…
At home, because we want to integrate Samira, Youssef and Aslan with the other members of our family.

A dish that will certainly be on the table…
Eggs with tuna, a recipe from the late grandfather Kopka.

A tradition to which we never derogate…
Prepare food baskets for the less fortunate. Last year, we gave our parcels to the association A Gift for a Smile, which distributes them to young people in the Montérégie who do not have the chance to be pampered at Christmas.

The subject we will avoid discussing…
None. With us, there are no taboos. During the six weeks of cohabitation with the Marda-Gulieva family, we had some differences regarding the education of the children, but we defused them by talking with respect.

The place of religion during the Holidays…
We don’t practise, but we answer children’s questions and we make a crèche into which we slip money. It is a family tradition by which we wish each other prosperity for the coming year.

The values ​​we want to pass on to children…
Generosity.

A memory of this memorable year…
The day we picked up the Marda-Gulieva family at the airport last July. We were all crying with emotion.

A wish that we will make for next year…
Cultivate love and kindness by spending as much time as possible together as a family.