Growing up on his family’s farm near Dorchester, Ontario, one of Jenner’s best gifts each Christmas was being exempt from his chores on Christmas Day. This year, he is looking forward to the first Christmas for his son Tommy, who was born in September.
“Yeah, we got that day off,” he said with a laugh about the farm duties. “But I remember growing up, obviously, the night before, falling asleep, and I’ll always remember me and my brothers at the top of the stairs waiting to go downstairs and see all the presents. Definitely great memories of that, and now it’s a lot of fun with my nieces and nephews and our son, it being his first Christmas, I’m sure he’ll get spoiled. We do a Secret Santa now, so that’s probably the highlight of what my family does. It's a lot of fun.”
The NHL season is busy, and Jenner is especially grateful for dedicated time with his family.
“It’s big,” he said. “You definitely miss them, and this time of year is a great time to get together. I obviously really look forward to the meal. We always do a big Christmas dinner. It’s a lot of fun to be around them, and I’m fortunate to be able to do that.”
Merzlikins’ Christmas Poems
Latvian goaltender Elvis Merzlikins remembers the nerve-racking tradition of having to memorize and recite a Christmas poem during a large family dinner in order to receive his presents.
“Usually if you want to get a Christmas gift, we have a big family dinner always at home. It's everyone,” Merzlikins said. “And usually we were doing the 24th night. That's when we were opening the gifts after dinner. So to receive your gift, in front of everyone you had to say a Christmas poem.
“So, it can be the same one every year, you know? It doesn't really matter, but that was a thing that if you want to receive your gift, you have to do it.”
Simply reading the poem wasn’t enough according to Merzlikins, who even remembered learning some of the poems in school.
“Obviously, you have to memorize it,” he said. “No, you cannot read it. You have to memorize it.
You have to learn it. I don't know, even in school, we were learning some of them."
Surprisingly, there were times when the friendly and engaging goalie couldn’t recite his poem. Though he can joke about it now, he recalls feeling so nervous that he would forget the words.
“I always (was) the person that couldn't really, it's hard to believe, but I couldn't talk in front of people,” Merzlikins said. “I just remember even in school, I had to read my sentences in the book in front of the class. It was always a panic moment. I was getting stuck all the time. So the poems in front of my family, I was really scared and felt under the pressure even if it's my family.”
“It happened that a couple of Christmases I had gifts, but I never got them. They were still standing there, and my mom would not give it to me if I would not say that poem in front of everyone, obviously. So yeah, that was our traditional thing. I don't know if it's a Latvian specific thing. But all my friends, they grow up like that in families, so that's what we had.”
Now the father of two sons, Knox and Jaxon, Merzlikins and his wife have decided against incorporating that tradition into their young family.
“Obviously, now, my family is a little different,” he said. “I have both kids, which are Americans, and my wife is Polish and Swiss. It's different cultures, so if I'm gonna tell them, ‘Guys, you need to start saying the Christmas poems,’ they’re going to kick me out of the house and tell me to shut up and give them the gifts, you know?”
Having lived in the United States for several years, the Merzlikins family has adopted many American holiday traditions, and he enjoys watching his kids experience them.
“I really like the Elf on the Shelf,” he said. “That's (an) American thing, and I see that, especially Knox, now that he's 4, he's having fun with it. The elf is always watching him, and he needs to behave and all that stuff.”
As a fan of food, Merzlikins appreciates Thanksgiving, but Christmas remains his favorite. His one requirement? A white Christmas.
“Christmas is my favorite holiday, and before coming to America, I never knew about Thanksgiving, but I love Thanksgiving as well,” he said. “You guys have amazing food here, and I love it. I really, really love it, but Christmas is my favorite, and Christmas has to be white. It has to be snow; otherwise, it's not the same thing – and the good snow, where you can build a snowman, where you can go sledding. We went to the hill there in New Albany, and the sled wasn't even sliding, you know? So how are you gonna explain to the 4-year-old that it doesn't work because the snow is not the right one?”
Lundeström on Swedish Traditions
As the lone Swede on the team, forward Isac Lundeström brings a unique perspective on holiday traditions.
Every year on Dec. 24 at 3 p.m., almost half of Sweden, which celebrates many of its Christmas traditions on the 24th, sits down to watch the animated Donald Duck Christmas special “From All of Us to All of You.” Or, as it’s known in Swedish, “Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul.”
It's not just a cartoon, it’s a cultural phenomenon, of which Lundeström is well aware.
“Every morning in Sweden it's always on the television,” Lundeström said. “Every Christmas morning, it’s always on TV, same channel, same time and everything.”
He has fond memories of Kalle Anka – which is Donald Duck’s Swedish name – along with holidays spent with family.
“You always go to grandma and grandpa for lunch and some dinner and stuff, and then you go back home, open some presents,” Lundeström said.
“I think we were pretty simple, to be honest. A lot of Swedish meatballs. It's a classic thing. Sometimes some potatoes, steak, yeah, pretty simple, but meatballs is definitely our favorite.”
With the hectic nature of the NHL season, it can be difficult to maintain some of the customs of his home country. The Lundeströms do their best, but sometimes that might involve a quick trip to the IKEA Restaurant.
“We try to,” he said. “Sometimes we’re a little lazy and go to IKEA and buy some Swedish meatballs, but sometimes we try to do our own too. We definitely try to keep (the traditions).”
Coyle’s Christmas Nostalgia
One of six Americans on the team, forward Charlie Coyle enjoys the classic holiday activities.
As a kid, he remembers looking forward to his parents hosting a family gathering on Christmas Eve. They might open a present or two, but the best part was the annual tradition of having calzones for dinner.
When asked how that tradition occurred, Coyle wasn’t sure, but that didn’t bother him.
“I don't know,” he said. “Just must have done it one year, and like, who doesn't like calzones?”
Leading up to Christmas Day, one of his favorite parts of the holiday season is listening to Christmas music, preferably the classics.
“That's what I love about Christmas, just having Christmas music (on),” Coyle said. “In the car it’s all I listen to in December. Mostly the classic oldies. The new ones with the newer artists, no, I don't like that. Well, like Brett Eldredge is fine, Michael Bublé, those are fine, but I like the older ones. I don’t like the pop. I like the old stuff. I don't know, I'm used to that.”
In addition to Christmas music, he enjoys the cozy, nostalgic feeling of the holiday season.
“I just like having that on or turning the TV on in your house and putting on a Christmas tree, like the cozy setting with a fireplace, you know?” Coyle said. “I just go on YouTube and type it in, and there’s so many different ones, and they play music too. There’s something about it, I'll do it every day now.”
For Coyle, it brings back memories of quality time spent with family decorating the tree each year.
“Our tree would be full of random ornaments from over the years, like, no rhyme or reason,” he said. "We just put them up, and I guess that's one thing we would do. We would always have a night, just a random night, but we'd always have a night where we’d put on our Christmas hats and play music, and we'd set up the Christmas tree.”
Marchenko’s Holiday Plans
Forward Kirill Marchenko, one of the Blue Jackets’ four players from Russia, has had to adapt his holiday plans to his hockey schedule.
In Russia, Christmas is a smaller holiday than it is in the United States; Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 7. Instead, New Year's is one of the country’s most widely celebrated holidays, with festivities lasting several days.
“We have Christmas, but different days,” Marchenko said. "The biggest for us is New Year’s. It's the biggest holiday. We just spend time with family and (have a) big dinner … some presents for everybody after. Just spend time with friends, too. Especially (because) it's three or four days for us. Yeah, it's nice.”
However, as the NHL picks back up after its brief Christmas break, there are often games scheduled for New Year’s Eve.
Marchenko doesn’t mind, though. He is grateful for the time off and plans to spend it with his wife.
“Especially here, (the) last four years, I've played on New Year’s,” he said. “We have a game and don’t have time to celebrate, but we celebrate Christmas too here because we’re here and (have) day offs too. Now, I think it will be just with my wife enjoying (it) at home and dinner.”
Living in the United States for the past few years has inspired Marchenko and his wife to incorporate some American Christmas traditions into their lives, including decorating a small tree.
“Yeah, (we have a) small tree,” he said. "Something small and some presents for each other, nothing crazy.”
Overall, it will be a much appreciated, relaxing holiday break for the Marchenkos.
“I really love (to) spend time with my wife, and now I can just enjoy it because it’s a tough schedule right now,” he said. “What days off we have, I try to be home and try to be with family.”
