It’s an unusually rainy day in December. The fifth graders at Ray Underhill Public School in Mississauga huddle together in their school library. The benches are rainbow-coloured, and the kids are wearing pajamas; colourful pajamas. It’s pajama day. And the boys and girls are excited because a CTV Toronto news crew is here to record Christmas and holiday greetings in their first languages.
“Can I say peace-out at the end?” a student named Dennis asks.
Dennis is sporting a blue shirt with the word ‘dude’ written across it. It’s clear he loves pop culture in the country that he and his family now call home. Dennis is from Russia, and he says Merry Christmas in Russian, but punctuates with the “Peace out dudes!” at the end, and a peace sign.
The kids laugh at each other for their silly hand-shakes, the drama that rises in their voices and theatrics they’re trying in the greetings. But no one here is laughing the cultural differences. It’s all fun, and the students make that very clear.
At Ray Underhill multiculturalism is an everyday part of life. Collectively, students at the school speak 70 different languages and that’s what makes this community a great place to find out what the holidays mean to families with different backgrounds.
Ten-year-old Maha stands out in the crowd. She’s dressed in a pink, paisley-printed blouse, and black pants, even though it’s pajama day. And she’s tall. It seems that she wants her first television appearance to be special. Her slight accent gives away the fact that she’s new to Canada.
“I came to Canada last year on Remembrance Day from Pakistan”, she says. “I miss my family and I miss the food. [But] I won’t go back.”
Going back to Pakistan means going back to danger, Maha says. “There are many bomb blasts; at least six people die every day”, she estimates. The real statistics are out of grasp, but she’s aware that people are killed routinely. At 10, all a child should be worried about is getting homework done on time. As Maha talks about how grateful she is to be in Canada, a world away, Pakistan grieves the loss of 132 school children killed by the Taliban in Peshawar.
“My name is Chayanne. You won’t be able to spell my name… No, it’s not S, it’s C,” she says. Chayanne shakes her head, swaying the pompom on the tip of her classic Santa’s red hat. When asked to describe her country, she mentions gangs, fights and guns. “I’m from Argentina… I saw a person shoot another person. It was hectic,” she says.
Ten-year-old Beula has a list of all the reasons she wouldn’t go back to her home country, Ghana. “It’s too hot when it rains and there’s a bunch of frogs that come out… I’ve seen a dead person on the road.” “What if he was sleeping?” asks Chayanne. “For three days?” she replies. “You know the gutter… that’s where he was. My mom and I were in the car. I was little though.”
Most of the kids in this group never had so many multicultural friends in their home countries. Ten-year-old Phi from Vietnam considers this to be a wonderful thing. “We learn different languages and cultures. My mom says you can get a good job if you know other languages.”
One thing that the children in this group have in common is their love for Canadian food. Maple syrup and bacon are among the favourites. And everyone says they enjoy the snow.
