‘It’s my 100th Christmas!’
SANDTON – Aileen Owen is a proud member of the Sandton community who will be celebrating her 100th Christmas this year.
Aileen Owen is an extraordinary Sandton resident because she will be celebrating her 100th Christmas this year.
She said, “Christmas is an exciting time of year and it is my favourite time to be around family and friends. Christmas has always been very important to me and I particularly love the puddings with lots of brandy sauce.”
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She added that she has always made a special effort with the lonely and less fortunate during the festive season. “I always include lonely people in my family’s Christmas celebration because nobody should be left alone during this time.
“There was once a spinster who I included in a few of our Christmas lunches and, after a few years of having her celebrate with us, I found out that her birthday was actually on 25 December. Had we not included her in our celebrations, she would have been alone for both Christmas and her birthday.”
Owen stressed that she has taught her children to always include others and proudly explained that they have followed her advice and often find lonely residents to include in their festive season parties. Another one of the traditions that she has proudly passed on to them is the importance of church. “We begin every Christmas day with a church service as a family and this is very important.”
She currently resides at Rosehaven Retirement Village in Sandton and her family is all going to visit her on Christmas to make her feel special.
The retirement village puts together a festive lunch for their residents every year. This year, their celebrations are extremely exciting because it is not every day that you meet someone who has lived through 100 festive seasons.
One of Owen’s fondest Christmas memories shows what a big heart she has. “When I worked as a nurse in the army in East Africa, I would help the prisoners of war, from countries such as Germany and Italy, write Christmas letters to their families and loved ones.”
Owen’s New Year’s resolution is to continue living a fruitful and happy life but, most importantly, she really wants to make it to her 101st birthday in April next year.
When asked how it feels to be preparing for her 100th Christmas and New Year celebrations she said, “Well it doesn’t feel any different at all!”
*Article first published on 15 December
