How Christmas is celebrated in Canada: Holiday traditions

Christmas is one of the most important holidays in Canada. With the arrival of winter, the whole country turns into a real fairy tale — with snow, bell ringing, sparkling garlands, and cozy family gatherings.

In Canada, Christmas lost its religious character as early as 1870. At that time, decorating the tree and giving presents became a family tradition. Other holiday attributes — Santa Claus, mistletoe, carols, and the like — appeared in the country in the 19th century. Many features of Christmas celebrations were brought to Canada by British migrants.

Let's plunge into the atmosphere of Canadian Christmas together, explore the traditions and peculiarities of this magical time.

The Christmas tree and the holiday table

December 24 is the country's Christmas Eve holiday. On this day, Canadians work a shortened day, and many people go to storm the stores in the afternoon in search of Christmas gifts. However, stores on this day also work on a reduced schedule — until 5-6 p.m.

Of course, the main Christmas tradition is decorating the tree and exchanging gifts. Interestingly, the first Christmas tree in North America was erected in Quebec, Canada in 1781. It belonged to Baroness Riedesel, who hosted British and German officers for Christmas. The mistress of the house decided to greet her countrymen with a huge fir tree decorated with fruit and candles. Nowadays you can hardly find a family in Canada that does not decorate a tree at Christmas.

Christmas itself is celebrated on December 25. Canadians often serve roast turkey, seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes, and gravy for the holiday table. Canadians' favorite Christmas desserts keep English traditions alive, such as plum pudding. Christmas cookies are given to each other as small souvenirs. Christmas celebrations are not without fruit cake.

And December 26 is called Boxing Day by Canadians. On this day, stores give the biggest discounts on goods, so the whole country goes shopping.

Traveling for the holidays

Between Christmas and New Year's, Canadians love to travel. Many choose warm countries for their vacations, and some like to travel across Canada itself. Economical Canadians plan trips not on Christmas Eve, but on December 25, because tickets become more expensive during the holidays. By the way, public transportation in Canada on Christmas and New Year's Eve can work on a reduced schedule.

Parades and festivals of lights

How can it be without mass festivities for the holidays? One of the traditions in Canada is the Christmas parades. For example, most Canadian cities hold a Santa Claus parade in December. Citizens also take part in the parades, the action looks especially large-scale in big cities such as Vancouver and Toronto. By the way, the Santa Claus parade in Toronto has been held for more than 100 years and is considered the longest parade for children.

Also popular in Canada at Christmas are festivals of lights. They are held in almost all provinces of the country, competing in the skill and scale of the event. Memorable festivals are held in Montreal, where the cultural program at Christmas is "framed" by old buildings and cobblestone roads.

Advent calendars

This tradition appeared in Canada not so long ago but has already captured the hearts of residents — buying Christmas Advent calendars. These are special calendars with surprises to count down the days until Christmas. Canadians buy them en masse about a month before the holiday.

Calendars consist of many boxes with presents inside. They need to be opened each day before Christmas. Most calendars start on December 1 and end on December 24, but there are other variations, such as the week before Christmas or from the beginning of December to New Year's Day.

For many, the Advent calendar is a way to create the so-called Christmas mood and immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of waiting for the main holiday of the year.

We hope that next year you will become closer to your dream of moving to Canada or even make it come true!