Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Nova Scotia Grandmother Hosts Christmas Dinner For Those Alone During The Holidays

The Canadian Press, 12 Dec, 2016 11:51 AM
    BLOCKHOUSE, N.S. — A grandmother in Nova Scotia has invited nine strangers to her dinner table this Christmas for a festive get together for those who can't spend the holidays with their families.
     
    Patty McGill worried that most of her homemade Yuletide delicacies would go to waste this season. Her children and grandchildren are in Quebec 1,300 kilometres away as she looks after her farm in the Lunenburg area on Nova Scotia's South Shore.
     
    On a whim, McGill decided to share her turkey dinner with six people she had never met in person. A friend posted an invitation on social media and the guest list soon grew as word spread about her gathering for those without a place to go for the holidays.
     
    "They're really interesting people, every single one of them," said McGill. "It's like a network was created from this idea ... It's really to break down barriers about who we are."
     
     
    It looks to be a diverse crowd, said McGill, including a falconer from British Columbia, a retired medical writer who worked in the United States, a cancer survivor and the mother of an infant who recently split with a man who she moved to the province to be with.
     
    McGill runs a therapeutic horseback riding program in Blockhouse for children with disabilities. With no one around to feed but animals, the 63-year-old matriarch is excited to share her family's famed "McGill stuffing" and sample other guests' holiday customs, like a Jewish university student who plans to bring a menorah.
     
    She joked that even her livestock will share in the festivities with kids unwrapping gifts on behalf of hoofed and pawed guests.
     
    Ingredients for the meal will be supplied by a local grocer and McGill has been receiving cheques from people who have been touched by her generous holiday spirit.
     
    Others are following McGill's example by reviewing their guest lists to see if anyone has been overlooked or perhaps crossed off too hastily. McGill said people have contacted her saying they've invited estranged familiy members to their celebrations as an opportunity to reconnect over the holidays. 
     
    "That's what this is about for me. To be with people who want to be with people," said McGill. "I can't be with the people that I want to be with ... but there's no denying me being with people."
     
    McGill has only interacted with her guests on the phone or by e-mail, mostly to co-ordinate travel arrangements. On the day of the feast, however, McGill is asking that cellphones be left in a basket at the door, so people can engage with each other rather than their screens.
     
    "It wasn't that long ago that it didn't matter who came down the road past your house, you were responsible for making sure that traveller was comfortable and fed," said McGill. "Now, people live in whole communities where they don't even know who their neighbours that live around them. It's not the way we're meant to be."
     
    She said she hopes the gathering will mark the start of a "new tradition" that embodies what the holidays are truly about — being together, loving thy neighbour and eating yule logs until you're more stuffed than the turkey.
     
    "It's a joy for me to do all this stuff," said McGill. "Everybody's family is bigger than they think."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Flower Power: Group Hands Blooms To Welcome Women In Hijabs At Transit Stop

    Flower Power: Group Hands Blooms To Welcome Women In Hijabs At Transit Stop
    Women wearing hijabs received flowers Wednesday as they waited at an Edmonton light-rail transit station where two Muslim women were targeted in what police say could be a hate crime.

    Flower Power: Group Hands Blooms To Welcome Women In Hijabs At Transit Stop

    Man Robs Nobleton, Ont., Drug Store Wearing Santa Hat And White Beard: Police

    Man Robs Nobleton, Ont., Drug Store Wearing Santa Hat And White Beard: Police
    York regional police say a man entered the drug store on Wednesday afternoon and went to the prescriptions counter.

    Man Robs Nobleton, Ont., Drug Store Wearing Santa Hat And White Beard: Police

    U.S. VP Biden visits Ottawa under a shroud and secrecy and speculation

    U.S. VP Biden visits Ottawa under a shroud and secrecy and speculation
    OTTAWA — U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden is to arrive in Ottawa later today on a visit shrouded in secrecy and speculation.

    U.S. VP Biden visits Ottawa under a shroud and secrecy and speculation

    Stranger's Random Act Of Kindness Reaps Plaudits From B.C. Transit Police

    Stranger's Random Act Of Kindness Reaps Plaudits From B.C. Transit Police
    Transit officers came across the young woman outside a downtown Vancouver SkyTrain station on Dec. 1 with a hospital identification bracelet around her wrist in temperatures of -3 C.

    Stranger's Random Act Of Kindness Reaps Plaudits From B.C. Transit Police

    High Property Prices Mean Change Needed For Home Tax Breaks: Metro Vancouver

    High Property Prices Mean Change Needed For Home Tax Breaks: Metro Vancouver
      The regional board says it will push for the change ahead of the provincial election in May following an unprecedented rise in home prices.

    High Property Prices Mean Change Needed For Home Tax Breaks: Metro Vancouver

    Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors Had Case Put Over Until January

    Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors Had Case Put Over Until January
    The case of a nurse accused of killing eight seniors at two long-term care homes in southwestern Ontario has been put over until Jan. 6.

    Nurse Accused Of Killing Seniors Had Case Put Over Until January