Sara Butrus lights up when she talks about experiencing her first Canadian Christmas.

She, like many refugees who recently arrived from the Middle East, are celebrating the holidays in a way she's never been able to before.

Coming from Iraq, her Christian family often spent Christmas in isolation for fear of being persecuted. But now in a country that respects freedom of religion, they can appreciate the holiday cheer they see on nearly every street corner.

"When you walk [around], you feel that it's Christmas time, you feel that," Sara told CBC News. "In Iraq, there's nothing like that."

Her family arrived in Windsor in September. They remember all too vividly the terror they lived when ISIS moved into their home city of Mosul and forced them out of the country.

They had to make a terrible choice, Sara's sister Rita Butrus explained. The family could either convert to Islam or face execution.

"ISIS came to the country and they told us, if you don't be a Muslim, either we will cut [off] your head or take your house, everything," she said. "So, we decided to move."

The sisters left first, followed shortly after by their parents. Their dad, Rakan Butrus, described the persecution of Christians back home, saying his salary as an assistant engineer was cut off, as was the electricity to the family's home.

After his daughters left, Rakan and his wife, Nagham, made their move. But before they left Mosul, ISIS stripped them of their last possessions.

"They took my parent's car, the house and everything we have, like the money, everything - clothes, everything," Rita said.

Seeing the Christmas decorations in school and hearing holiday music in almost every shop may seem routine for most Canadians, but, for the Butrus family, it means so much more.

"We didn't want to change our religion, so we decided to leave," Rakan said with his daughter Rita translating. "It's not because we don't want to live with you, but because you ask us [to make] a difficult decision."

Coming to Canada, the family members knew they would finally have the freedom to live the life they want, explained Nagham, also speaking through Rita's translation.

"Here, there is the freedom and democracy and everyone has their own religion," she said. "No one will talk about them, everyone can do what they want."