The lives of the saints are a huge part of Christian tradition and there are many who we associate with the Christmas season. You probably know the story of St. Nicholas. There’s also, of course, the Nativity story and the birth of Christ, with Mother Mary, St. Joseph and St. Gabriel the Archangel.

But do you recall the least known Christmas saints of them all? Here are just a few.

KLEINBURG, ONT. - For more than 30 years, Msgr. Gregory Ace has been fascinated by Nativity scenes from around the world. He has collected more than 1,000 Nativity sets from 126 countries worldwide and every Advent, his pieces are displayed in schools, city halls and other churches.

It will be a sadder Christmas for Rick Campanelli and his family this year as they celebrate their first Christmas without family matriarch Antoinette, who passed away over the summer. Antoinette was the heart of the Campanelli family holidays. She prepared everything from the gifts to decorating the family home in Hamilton, Ont., and, of course, cooked Christmas brunch and dinner. The whole family rallied around Antoinette’s love for Christmas.

Christmas is a celebration of the family, which is why Catholic Family Services offices across the country are working hard to ensure that it is a merry season for everyone.

TORONTO - Syria’s civil war has seen families pulling their children out of school as they escape the growing violence and persecution in the area. Many have not been back to school since the war started in 2012.

TORONTO - The truth part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process is done; now is the time for Canada to enter into reconciliation, said Anglican Bishop Mark MacDonald.

Caroline Pignat was teaching her Grade 12 writer’s craft class, doing the daily morning prompt and getting ready to start a new unit on script writing. It was like any other morning.

TORONTO - In 2010, Morgan Wienberg’s future was set: she was headed to McGill University to study nursing to specialize in pediatric surgery because she knew she wanted to work with children. But her plans were derailed when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti.

THORNHILL, ONT. - Every day Rami Kaai receives at least 50 phone calls from Christian refugees in the Middle East who plead for his help in coming to Canada.

TORONTO - Many members of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Union (ACSSU) have grown up in Canada watching from a distance as civil wars tear apart their homelands and force their relatives and friends to flee. As tensions rise and more people are displaced, ACSSU members believe they can make a difference.