Vancouver Sun: Kelly Ip's First White Christmas in Canada
– Ottawa 1961
My friend Kelly Ip had a story about his first White Christmas in Canada, published in the Vancouver Sun on Dec. 18th. I have known Kelly through our many community committments, and it was on his recommendation that I was invited to become a director of the Canadian Club Vancouver. Kelly is a staunch supporter of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, and both he and his wife Maggie were included in the Vancouver Sun's list of influential Chinese Canadians of BC.
“My first white Christmas was spen with my room mate's family in St. Anne de Sorrel in Quebec.
“They had a house on the North Shore of the St. Lawrence River, and I was shown how to ride a snowmobile, went on a sleigh ride and experienced the culture and tradition of a French Canadian family. My room mate's family took me to a midnight mass, followed by a “reveillion” (midnight dinner) at home. My first Canadian White Christmas.
Fast forward to five years ago when our one-year-old grandson came with us to Whistler for his first Christmas and he too, experienced a white one….
click on attachment to read more, and see picture of Kelly and Maggie with their grandson… and Kelly in 1961!
i remember how i reacted when i first touched the snow… it was in the 80s and we were newly landed… never saw the snow before… my bro and i found out that making a snowman wasn't as easy as what we saw in cartoons etc… it took time and strength. finally we made a snowman with a big penis… haha … so much fun. we took lots of photos with my folks and granny (oh i missed her so much). we were soooo excited and overjoyed — about the snow not the penis 😛
Thanks for sharing…
It's hard to remember my first White Christmas… exactly.
There are picture of me and my brother as small children – I think it was the big snow storm of '64 in Vancouver.
Nowadays, a “White Christmas” is when I go visiting with my girlfriend's parents.
No silly… not a “White-Canadian” Christmas, as opposed to a “Asian-Canadian Christmas.” Two years ago I flew up to the Okanagan on Christmas Day. My girlfriend met me at the Kelowna airport, where it had just started snowing. I got to shovel snow for the next 2 days.
This year we drove up on Boxing Day. It started to snow just as we arrived on the outskirts of Vernon. It's great walking around in the snow, going ice skating and throwing snowballs.