One of Canada’s national treasures will be visiting Bangor this week, when Rita MacNeil performs at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Bangor Civic Center.

MacNeil isn’t well known on this side of the border. But in her homeland, the Nova Scotia native has earned three Juno (the Canadian Grammy) Awards and has a weekly musical show, “Rita & Friends,” on CBC-TV.

The 52-year-old singer will perform holiday songs from her “Joyful Sounds — A Seasonal Collection” album, many of which she wrote herself. She will also perform nonseasonal songs from her 10 other albums.

“I love Christmas music,” said MacNeil from her Big Town, Nova Scotia, home. “It’s a great time to tour, because people are always wonderful.”

Her first visit to Bangor will be the last stop of a seven-date tour through the eastern United States. It’s only her fourth tour of the country, and MacNeil is looking forward to it.

“It’s difficult for me to make a name for myself, because I don’t have a record-company release in the U.S.,” she said. “I’m breaking ground in this country, and I’m very excited about the opportunity. I’m testing the waters.”

“Joyful Sounds” is a compilation of her first two holiday albums, “Now the Bells Ring” and “Once Upon a Christmas,” along with two new songs. A songbook and a video have been released in conjunction with “Joyful Sounds.”

“We created a Christmas package that people have been asking for,” said the EMI recording artist.

MacNeil has come a long way from the child who dropped out of singing lessons because she was too shy to let out a note. Growing up in Big Pond, a hamlet of Cape Breton, she got much support from her mother.

“She believed in the singing and so wanted me to be able to one day perform, because she knew that’s what I loved,” MacNeil recalled. “I hoped she would be able to see me perform one day, but she passed away before things started to happen for me.”

MacNeil left home for Toronto at age 17 to pursue her dream. Making little headway after 10 years, a marriage and a divorce, she moved with her two children to Ottawa. She increasingly found it difficult to make a living, and began taking on other jobs, from waitress to cleaning woman, to make ends meet.

“A lot of songs come out of those hard times and you learn a lot about yourself,” she said. “It’s great inspiration for writing.”

Things started to come together for MacNeil after she moved home in the late ’70s.

“That’s when my career took a better direction,” she said. “Moving back home, my writing seemed to open up more and I was reintroduced to my roots. It was great because I connected with musicians from home and that brought everything into focus.”

Since then, most of her albums have gone platinum in Canadian sales, and sold well in Great Britain and Australia. In addition to her Juno Awards, she has picked up several Canadian Country Music and East Coast Music awards as well. One of her career highlights came in 1992, when she was inducted into the Order of Canada.

These days, all kinds of people come to a Rita MacNeil concert.

“My music largely appeals to the audience that grew up with me, those 40 and up,” she said. “But I get a great blend of all ages in the audience, which has always been gratifying.”

Tickets for the Rita MacNeil concert are available at the Bangor Auditorium box office or by calling 941-9711.