Christmas in Canada

Flip Oberth

Canada is a vast country, stretching from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans as well as to the North Pole. Canada’s 32 million inhabitants are as diverse as the nation’s changing landscapes. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Christmas in Canada reflects our diversity of ethnic origins, languages and religions. While English and French are the “official” languages, Canada’s cultures also speak Cantonese, Punjabi, German, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Norwegian, Hungarian and Greek, to name a few. Religions are equally diverse, and include Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh.

We share some common themes with the festivities in Britain and Europe. Christmas is a time for families and especially for children. There is often a traditional roast turkey dinner with the usual trimmings, along with cranberry sauce. In British Columbia, salmon might accompany the turkey dinner. In Quebec, tourtière - a layered hot-pot style pork pie - is popular and small meatballs or boulettes at “reveillon” (waking up), because the feast is eaten after Midnight Mass. Crèches or nativity scenes often form an important part of Christmas decorations in Quebec. In Labrador, turnips with a lighted candle are given to children. In Nova Scotia, belsnickers (masked mummers) ring doorbells hoping to receive candy (sweets) or other treats. Songs and carols originally brought from Britain by Nova Scotia’s Scottish settlers are also sung on Christmas morning.

Across Canada, Christmas lights are strung on the exterior of many houses. Indoors, you’ll find a well-decorated natural pine Christmas tree. After determining whether we’ve been naughty or nice, Santa Claus comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve to leave presents under the tree. (Canadians like to think that Santa visits us first because we are one of several countries laying claim to the North Pole. Yet, friends in England are quick to note that Christmas comes five or six hours earlier in Britain). We leave a glass of milk and cookies (biscuits) for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. Yes, these are gone by morning.

Most Canadians have a reasonable degree of certainty that they will be greeted with a white Christmas. In the Prairie provinces, December averages of minus 15 degrees Celsius can drop below minus 40 °C with severe wind chills. Canada’s Far North has an extreme climate with lengthy winters, icy landscapes and beautiful Northern Lights. The west coast enjoys a temperate climate with a mild and rainy winter and only occasional snow. On the east coast – the Maritimes – we experience the moderating effects of the sea, although that can come hand in glove with renowned fog. But, the weather doesn’t seem to dampen any Canadian’s enjoyment of Christmas!