How Christmas is celebrated in Canada: holiday traditions
Canada is a multicultural country with its own unique Christmas and New Year's celebrations.
Christmas is one of the most important holidays in Canada. As winter arrives, the whole country transforms into a real fairytale — with snow, bell chimes, twinkling lights, and cozy family gatherings.
Christmas in Canada lost its religious character back in 1870. That's when decorating the tree and exchanging gifts became a family tradition. Other holiday symbols — Santa Claus, mistletoe, carols, and the like — appeared in the country in the 19th century. Many Christmas traditions were brought to Canada by British immigrants.
Let's dive into the atmosphere of Canadian Christmas together and explore the traditions and unique features of this magical time.
Christmas Tree and Holiday Feast
Christmas Eve is celebrated on December 24th. On this day, Canadians often work shorter hours, and many head to the stores after noon to search for Christmas gifts. However, stores also close early on this day, usually around 5-6 PM.
Of course, the main Christmas tradition is decorating the tree and exchanging gifts. Interestingly, the first Christmas tree in North America was set up in Quebec, Canada, in 1781. It belonged to Baroness Riedesel, who hosted British and German officers for Christmas. The hostess decided to welcome her fellow countrymen with a huge tree decorated with fruits and candles. Now, it's hard to find a family in Canada that doesn't decorate a tree for Christmas.
Christmas Day itself is celebrated on December 25th and is an official federal holiday in all Canadian provinces and territories. For the holiday feast, Canadians often serve roast turkey or ham, seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes, and gravy. In Quebec, a traditional dish is tourtière — a meat pie of French-Canadian origin. Canadians' favorite Christmas desserts maintain English traditions, such as plum pudding. Christmas cookies are given as small gifts. And no Christmas celebration is complete without a fruit cake.
December 26th is called Boxing Day in Canada. It's an official holiday in most Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador. On this day, stores offer the biggest discounts, so the whole country goes shopping.
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Between Christmas and New Year's, Canadians love to travel. Many choose warm countries for vacation, while others enjoy traveling within Canada. Budget-conscious Canadians plan their trips for December 25th rather than Christmas Eve because ticket prices increase during the holidays. By the way, public transportation in Canada may operate on reduced schedules during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Parades and Light Festivals
What's a holiday without public celebrations! One of the traditions in Canada is Christmas parades. For example, most Canadian cities hold a Santa Claus parade in December. City residents also participate in these parades, which are especially impressive in large cities like Vancouver and Toronto. In fact, Toronto's Santa Claus Parade has been running for over 100 years and is considered the longest-running children's parade.
Light festivals are also popular in Canada during Christmas. They're held in almost all provinces, competing in skill and scale. Memorable holiday festivals take place in Montreal, where the Christmas cultural program is "framed" by historic buildings and cobblestone streets.
Advent Calendars
This tradition appeared in Canada relatively recently 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 in bulk about a month before the holiday.
The calendars consist of many compartments with gifts inside. They're meant to be opened each day leading up to Christmas. Most calendars start on December 1st and end on December 24th, but there are other versions, such as a week before Christmas or from early December to New Year's.
For many, an Advent calendar is a way to create a "Christmas mood" and immerse themselves in the magical atmosphere of anticipation for the year's main holiday.
