The Black Friday market, which took place inside the C.D. Howe Building in downtown Ottawa on Friday, featured more than 20 Indigenous vendors from across the country. 

Charette, who sells beaded jewelry, originates from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory in Manitoulin Island. He said he has been bead-working with his sister since he was 13 years old. Together, they launched the David Whitedeer brand and sell their earrings in markets across the city.

He noted that the colours and designs he chooses for his work come from the inspiration of outfits he encountered in pow-wow dancing when he was a kid. Charette added that dancing is a lifestyle and is one that he embraces.

“You get trained for it during the wintertime, and then the summertime comes and there’s pow-wows back-to-back every weekend,” he said.

A few booths down was Marissa Dubé’s display. Dubé, who co-founded Indigenous Markets and is also a vendor, said she met her business partners at the Adaawe Indigenous Hub, an organization for Indigenous entrepreneurs.

 “We wanted to provide a higher-end experience for Indigenous Markets and be able to provide vendors with free opportunities,” she said. “We get sponsors to pay for the full event so that everyone does not pay for their tables.”

Through providing merchants with financially-accessible opportunities, Indigenous Markets is complementing its vision to “provide a unique retail experience that highlights Indigenous art, culture and traditions – while at the same time working towards our collective goal to Indigenize Colonial Spaces.”

Dubé highlighted Eiralize Dreams, her dream catcher and bracelet company. Self-taught and with familial links to both the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Algonquin and Kahnawake Mohawk territory, Dubé described the intricate webbing done on dream catchers.

“Traditionally, dream catchers were made to filter out the bad dreams. You would have them above your bed and the bad dreams will get lost in the webbing, which is why it’s so intricate,” she said. She added that the purpose of the feathers is so that good dreams and thoughts trickle down onto people as they sleep.

Tierney Kist heard about the event from a vendor she follows on Instagram, Quality Quills. Kist came out to the market to see what other Indigenous vendors would be selling. 

“I think it’s really nice to have something that showcases Indigenous peoples specifically,” she said. “They have so many beautiful things to offer and [it’s] really special that people are able to come and appreciate it in this kind of capacity.”

Kist said she is a huge fan of beaded earrings, so she was on the lookout for a pair for herself and also searching for a few gifts as the holiday season shopping begins.

Charette added he likes the environment of the market as “it brings people together” and allows artisans from different communities to come together. He added he hopes to be a part of Indigenous Markets for a long time.

The Stittsville family’s homage last year to the 2003 holiday hit included the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, the Sea of Swirly Twirly Gumdrops, as well as cardboard cut-outs of Buddy the Elf, a life-size replica of Santa’s sleigh and signposts of some of the film’s most recognizable quotes.

Turcotte, whose family built the display as a charity fundraiser, recalls seeing Ferrell’s Elf in theatres when it was originally released. “It’s incredible to see 20 years go by so quickly,” he said. “It’s a Christmas classic for a lot of people so I’ve found it’s really cool that they’re re-releasing it.”

The modern classic, which hits select big screens today, first aired on Nov. 7, 2003, and remains a holiday must-watch 20 years later.

“I think even when Elf was brand new, and obviously not creating its own nostalgia, it was already tapping into an earlier generation’s nostalgia,” says film critic and self-avowed fan of the film, Chris Knight.

Knight hasn’t seen the film in a few years but recalls scenes such as Buddy discovering the “world’s best cup of coffee” and being terrified by the pop of a jack-in-the-box at Santa’s workshop. “Will Ferrell commits so well to the role of Buddy. He just sort of has no filter, no shame. He really is this man-child character,” he said.  

Knight noted that the longevity of the film could be largely due to the script. “There’s nothing really dated about the comedy, it’s not leaning on social media or anything that might go out of style,” he said.  

Although only two decades old, this movie has reached classic status among the greats: It’s A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, to name a few – because it draws on elements from all three of these films. 

Perhaps the appeal of the film is because of its close connection to the 1964 Rankin Bass television hit Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, said television columnist and critic Bill Brioux. “If you take a close look at the clothes that they’re wearing, [or] the backgrounds during some of the scenes, you’ll notice that the art direction really mimicked the way that Rudolph was designed,” he said.

Brioux added that Buddy’s costume was very much like Hermey the Elf’s, “right down to the hat on his head.” It was so similar to the television special that the creators almost got in legal trouble, according to Netflix’s Movies That Made Us. 

Elf also draws on other Christmas classics to contribute to its emotional appeal. It is likely that these factors play a role in the routine viewing of Elf in many households each year – as there is nostalgia embedded in the movie’s roots.  For instance, Buddy leans over a bridge in New York while feeling low near the end of the movie, which mimics George Bailey doing this in 1947’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Additionally, the actor Peter Billingsley, who plays Santa’s Head Elf in the 2003 film, starred as Ralphie in A Christmas Story in 1983.

Repeat viewings of holiday movies have a long history, according to a Film Studies Assistant Professor at Carleton University. “Probably the first example of that is It’s A Wonderful Life,” Katherine Morrow said, referencing the black-and-white classic.

However, a 2022 Statista report demonstrated that there were fewer people watching films in theatres last year than a decade earlier. Although COVID-19’s Omicron variant was rampant at this time, the amount of Cineplex movie-goers was cut by almost half – indicating that attendance was likely on the decline already.

Morrow added that the re-release of Elf demonstrates a shift to event cinema, which is a way to “more broadly get people back in theatre.” She added that this method is frequently used in the release of concert films as it provides people who were not able to attend an event in person, with the opportunity to experience it in a grandiose way.

Although playing holiday classics is commonplace leading up to the holidays, Morrow said that the re-release of Elf could be a result of the Hollywood writers’ strike that took place this year. She added that putting an already-made film back in theatres was a good idea from the studios as creating new ones “wouldn’t have been possible in the past year,” she said.

After the positive response to his Elf-themed Christmas display, Turcotte says he is almost certain that the re-release will be successful.

The father of two added that one of the reasons he and his wife fell in love was because of their shared admiration for Christmas. Each year, they create a long list of holiday movies to watch. “Elf is usually at the top of the list,” he said.

After watching the film upwards of 20 times last year in preparation for his family’s fundraiser, Turcotte noted that it never gets old for him. He said he hopes he can see the film the way it was intended to be watched: with his family in theatres.

At this time, no cinema showings have been scheduled for Elf in Ottawa.

Even for an uninitiated first-time visitor to Café Ukraine, it takes less than two minutes to get dragged into a game of chess, before getting gently dismantled by a burly, bearded Ukrainian man, down to the very last pawn. 

Meanwhile, other people are bringing out musical instruments, enjoying some traditional Ukrainian food and drink, and playing board and card games. The room is buzzing with conversation and laughter – which is exactly what organizers wanted. 

“The entire point of the café was to create a place specifically for Ukrainian newcomers where they could just be,” said Adriana Romas, a lead organizer of Café Ukraine and member of the Ukrainian diaspora.

“We had to figure out a way to pull these new Ukrainians into the community because there was a huge risk they would be spread out around Ottawa in strange homes, with strange people, with a strange language, and then what?” 

Pulling Ukrainians in Ottawa together as the holiday season arrives is noteworthy this year given that Ukraine has officially moved its Christmas holiday from Jan. 7 to Dec. 25, in an act of defiance against continued Russian aggression in Ukrainian territory, and as a departure from the Russian Orthodox Church. However, for the time being, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ottawa will continue to have its Christmas Day celebrations on Jan. 7. 

For many Ukrainians in Ottawa, this Christmas season is less about the day it is celebrated on and more about being together and celebrating Ukrainian traditions. The effects of the ongoing war have led to uprooted lives, separated families and lost loved ones. Having a sense of togetherness away from home, made possible through venues such as Café Ukraine, Maidan Market and the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, is vital for Ukrainian newcomers fleeing war to feel a sense of belonging this holiday season. 

“Broken souls and broken destinies need support. They need to feel at home,” said Father Taras Kinash, the parish priest at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, in Ottawa’s west end. 

For nearly two years now, Ukraine has been engaged in a bloody and brutal war with Russia, forcing millions from their homes and leaving 17.6 million people in Ukraine in need of humanitarian assistance in 2023, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 

During this period of intense uncertainty and anxiety, many Ukrainians have turned to the church for support, Kinash said. The parish has been active since the war began, running a variety of events, programs and fundraisers to provide a welcoming environment for Ukrainian newcomers into the Ottawa-Ukrainian community, according to Kinash.

Deciding on which day to celebrate Christmas next year is not easy for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada, whose decision the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Ottawa would follow. For Ukrainians who migrated to Canada long ago, “the tradition of celebrating Christmas on Jan. 7 was one way they could preserve their unique culture and identity in a land so far from home,” Kinash said.

For Mykyta Zakharchenko – a 17-year-old who came to Canada by himself because of the war over a year ago, hardly knowing any English at all – this holiday season will bring “new feelings.”  

“We should build something new, in a way that respects and remembers our old traditions,” said Mykyta, as he sipped a coffee Tuesday night at Café Ukraine.

However, he said there are more important things on his mind. “We have a war, we’re not thinking about a holiday.”

Mykyta says he had established a good life for himself in Cherkasy, south of Kyiv. He started a cryptocurrency company, joined a Ukrainian national rowing team and attended high school with his family and friends close by.

That all changed one morning in late February 2022 when he woke to a phone call from his best friend.

“The war has started,” his friend said. Mykyta said he knew at that moment things wouldn’t be the same.

Within the span of four days, it was determined he would move to Canada and live with a host family, while his mother and little brother would move to Germany. His grandmother remained in Cherkasy. Despite being separated, his family is constantly at the forefront of his mind. 

For Mykyta and many other Ukrainian newcomers who have been separated from their families, this holiday season will be a “painful” one, he said.

“Christmas is a family holiday. It is when you should be with your family,” Mykyta said.

Fortunately, diaspora organizations have stepped up big time to support Ukrainian newcomers. Places like Café Ukraine and Maidan Market sprung up as local initiatives in Ottawa after the latest war began and have played a big part in helping provide a sense of community for Ukrainian newcomers.

“To me, especially around the Christmas holidays, Café Ukraine feels like home,” Mykyta said. 

The Ottawa community has also shown its full support. During the initial phase of newcomers fleeing the war, Maidan Market – an information and learning centre for Ukrainian newcomers located in the West Gate Shopping Centre – had over 400 volunteers assisting over 2,000 Ukrainians in need of help, according to Svitlana Maksiuta, a lead organizer. 

Newcomers Olha Stoicheva and Venera Khakimova, who were waiting around after finishing their English lesson at the community hub on Thursday morning, said Maidan Market has been a place for them to feel comfortable and to connect with other Ukrainians. 

“Maidan Market, for everybody, is a country within a country, an island where we keep safe and feel warmth and friendliness,” Khakimova said. 

Over the upcoming Christmas holidays, both Café Ukraine and Maidan Market will be bringing Ukrainians together. Mykyta, Stoicheva and Khakimova all said they plan to celebrate Christmas twice, on both Dec. 25 and Jan. 7. 

Kinash and his parish have been working hard to make Ukrainian newcomers feel welcome this holiday season. On Saturday, Nov 18. the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ottawa will be hosting the 2023 Ukrainian Christmas Market. 

“The day Ukrainians celebrate Christmas,” Kinash said, “is not as important as the celebration of tradition itself.”