Selena and Stella saved Christmas | Press

There were almost no Christmas decorations this year.

Guiomar Araujo has been decorating the exterior of his house for the holiday season for 40 years. And not just a little. At nightfall, a rain of light floods Santa Claus, religious figures, snowmen, wreaths, garlands and many stars that litter the ground …

It’s been 40 years that Guiomar has spent three days decorating his home in this way, just to make passers-by happy.

However, the ritual almost got the hell out of it.

It is because two years ago, Guiomar woke up to discover her almost empty courtyard. Much of the decorations accumulated over the decades had been stolen.

The 76-year-old cried a lot. In fact, she hasn’t recovered from it yet. It took everything for her to relaunch the adventure last year. She ended up buying some new pieces to decorate her land, encouraged by her relatives, but the pleasure was not the same … She knew that now, nothing was more sacred.

Then this year she fell ill. Too sick to decorate. His daughter, Stella, and granddaughter, Selena, took over. Like every mid-November – it’s less cold for the hands than in December – they took about fifteen hours to set up the yard, to install lights and to try to connect them correctly with extensions.

They have succeeded.

Thanks to them, the magic is back in the small kingdom of Guiomar.

* * *

I admit that I cheated a bit to find them.

I wanted to knock on the door of an intensely (and, most importantly, prematurely) decorated house for the holidays. However, I did not dig up much, in the middle of November. So I made a call to everyone on social networks.

“In your neighborhood, is there a house already lit up?” ”

I was advised to go for a walk in Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal. Two houses were there in a particularly festive fashion! I would probably find a story there.

I did find one as soon as I turned the corner. In front of one of the decorated mansions two women were discussing. Stella and her daughter, Selena. They explained to me that the house that had just captured my attention belonged to Guiomar and her husband, the elders of the Araujo family.

Then they invited me to come in to meet the matriarch.

* * *

The living room is awe-inspiring, filled with trinkets, covered in family photos, and protected by 14-year-old Chihuahua, Benji.

“He’s old, his teeth are falling out…” Guiomar warns me.

(Note that he will not lose any during the interview.)

The owner of the place is warm. She tells me that her French is not perfect. His language is more Portuguese. She came to the country at 22, convinced by her brother and sisters that a better life awaited them here.

She was quickly hired in a clothing factory. She worked there for decades, during the day. Her husband worked nights. Concierge for Concordia University.

A tough schedule for their four children, she admits.

But Stella tells me that her parents were still there for Christmas. Both. An essential ritual, a rare opportunity to come together.

Stella gives me a list of what is usually on the menu: “Turkey, salted cod, ham with pineapple, prawns for a starter and a lasagna for the kids!” ”

And there are quite a few kids… Guiomar has ten grandchildren, then eight great-grandchildren. It is in this house that the family meets, every December 24, for 40 years. Obviously, COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the last holiday gathering. However, the exterior decorations were there.

As if to testify that hope was still possible.

“For as long as I can remember, I helped my grandmother decorate,” 21-year-old Selena tells me. It makes people so happy! They often stop to take pictures. ”

When I explain to the trio that it is moreover thanks to a call to all that I discovered their impressive courtyard, Guiomar remains speechless.

She ended up whispering “Ah, my God!” Awkwardly suppressing a smile.

“She doesn’t dare say it, but I’m sure it warms her heart,” Selena tells me. Then, she points to the decorated ground, through the window: “It’s all her job. We just took it back to continue to make people happy. ”

Besides, did the 76-year-old woman suffer from not being able to take part in the activities this year?

It’s Stella who answers me, possibly to avoid plunging her mother into a subject that could upset her: “I think that deep down, she was relieved to leave the task to us!” She laughs.

* * *

I notice that there is no tree around us. It’s curious, considering the sweet decadence to which we are entitled, outside …

The women explain to me that in vain they triumph over Christmas, they still wait for the 1^er December to decorate the interior. You can be enthusiastic while knowing the holiday etiquette, frankly.

This year, it’s Selena who will assemble the Christmas village, in the living room. Guiomar is too tired to go ahead. Anyway, she may have her own apartment, the young woman spends one day a week with her grandmother. It’s nothing, just a little help …

I find them so touching.

One last question, before leaving: after 54 years in the country, is life really better here, Guiomar?

“I am more Canadian than Portuguese,” she answers spontaneously. I left poor Portugal, I arrived here, I was able to work, to buy my house, to make a living. Canada is my country. ”

And its decorations, basically, it’s a way of thanking us all.