From Deseret News archives:
Christmas reflections: Multicultural celebrations revive memories
"Those were good times," Martinez, 71, remembers of family gatherings, roasted pork and sweets in her Cuban homeland. But those celebrations were banned after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.
After arriving as a refugee in Utah last month, Martinez will be celebrating for the first time with her son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters.
"It's new, new," says Mary Luz Barrientos, 36, Martinez's daughter-in-law. Speaking through an interpreter, Barrientos describes her excitement over the lights and Santa Claus and gifts. But it's a bittersweet celebration for the five, who arrived here together last month, leaving the rest of the their family behind.
Martinez's granddaughter, 12-year-old Mayara Rigual, cries as she describes her Christmas wish to be with her mother, still in Cuba.
Still, Martinez is thrilled to be able to share a long-lost holiday, especially with her son, Oscar Rigual. She smiles as she says in Spanish, "He just turned 40, and he doesn't know."
The two girls' eyes showed excitement as they received their first Christmas gift — a new computer from Catholic Community Services. They said even after recent softening of the laws, Christmas is a muted holiday at best in Cuba.
Martinez is eager to bring back her holiday traditions, which she's relieved are embraced in Utah.
The Seventh-day Adventist family are among nearly 2.2 billion Christians in the world, according to the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. People from across the globe bring their own unique flavors to the traditional celebration.
Richard Stamm, 58, has vibrant memories of the "flickering light" from real candles on a Christmas tree as a young boy in postwar Vienna, Austria. He also remembers cookies and blood oranges, a seasonal fruit known for its red color.
"As a kid, I remembered Christmas Eve. It was, in fact, a full-day holiday," he said. "In the early afternoon we had to take a nap. After that the Christmas tree appeared."
The tree and presents were brought by Kristkindl, the literal translation being "Christ child." But Stamm said, "It didn't have a religious feeling, this Christmas entity."
Children helped to make cookies and in the evening, Stamm said there would be a dinner of traditional schnitzel and goose.
"It was a big deal," he said. "Things were scarce then."
Stamm said he left Austria when he was 7, living in the United States and Switzerland.
His family gave in to some American traditions — they set up their Christmas earlier and celebrate on Christmas Day.
