Star of Christmas: Sobeys releases new, limited-time musical ornament

Sobeys is bringing back a beloved Christmas song in the form of a new, limited-time musical ornament this holiday season.

The ornament plays the “Star of Christmas” jingle from the original 1987 commercial. The song has become synonymous with the holiday season in Atlantic Canada ever since.

Each ornament costs $10 and 100 per cent of the proceeds will go toward food banks in the region.

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“Since 1987, there’s been a couple reboots of the ‘Star of Christmas’ and I think the opportunity this year is what makes it really special, which is to support local food banks by bringing back the ornament into people’s living rooms,” said Sarah Dawson, a corporate affairs manager with Sobeys, during an interview on CTV Morning Live Atlantic.

There are around 25,000 ornaments and they will be available in all Sobeys, Foodland and participating Co-op stores in Atlantic Canada until supplies last.

Dawson said, if people miss a chance to scoop them up, they’re encouraged to simply support local food banks during the holiday season instead.

Bahia Askri was a former cast member from the original 1987 commercial along with her best friend Giovanna Zavarella.

They were a part of the Saint Agnes School Choir as children and are still best friends 37 years later.

Askri said the commercial was a heartwarming experience.

“We had no idea that it would keep continuing, it was just a fun experience for us when we were younger and it kind of feels a bit surreal that it’s still holding its power since the ‘80s,” she said.

“For me, back then, it just felt like we were getting time off of school, we get to be cool and go to a recording studio and then when we shot the commercial it was at the old QE high school and we got to take an afternoon off school and then we had a pizza party. We really felt special.”

Zavarella added more people are now seeing the original commercia, thanks to the growth of social media.

“I was checking social media and everywhere you look, every platform, everybody’s commenting and it’s always nice things that people are saying about it. And a lot of memories for people when they hear this song,” she said.