Christmas Lyn
Christmas in Canada is the time for embracing historical traditions, participating in snowy activities, and spending time with family.
Although Canada is located so close to the U.S., some Christmas customs of our northern neighbor are rather unique.
Canada is famous for its impressive parades and festivals, some of which are held for over a century and are only growing bigger.
These include the Toronto Santa Claus Parade and Newfoundland’s mummering festival.
Canadian nature is what makes locals so proud and tourists so interested in this country.
At Christmas time, Canadian mountains and forests are covered in snow, and people head outside to enjoy the views and participate in winter sports.
Of course, like most Christians, Canadians also exchange gifts, attend church, and feast with family.
Canadian Christmas menu is exceptionally indulgent and sophisticated.
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Gift Exchange
Canadians are no different from the rest of the world when it comes to the gift exchange.
Santa traditionally comes to Canadian children on Christmas morning, December 25. Gifts are placed under the Christmas tree or in stockings.
Toronto Santa Claus Parade
Each year since 1905, Toronto hosts the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. It’s the oldest Santa parade in the world attended by over a half million people annually. In fact, it’s among the oldest parades in the world overall.
The event is held on the third Sunday of November rather than at Christmas. The parade’s route exceeds 3.5 miles, passing the Christie Pits area, Bloor Street West, Front Street West, and ending at the Saint Lawrence Market.
The first Toronto Santa Claus Parade was held by a department store chain Eaton’s. It had a slightly different route than nowadays and only featured one float with Santa in the sleigh.
In 1913, Santa’s sleigh was pulled by reindeer, and since 1917, the number of floats started to grow each time.
Since 1947, each Toronto Santa Claus Parade includes the Punkinhead – a sad teddy bear character created by Eaton’s and commonly appearing in Canadian children’s books.
Eaton’s company continued to pay for the parades until the 1980s’ when the parade got too large for them to handle the costs.
Today, the parade features numerous Christmas figures such as snowmen and reindeer along with holiday-themed toys, movie and cartoon characters.
It’s sponsored by multiple corporations, including McDonald’s, Lowe’s, and The Walt Disney Company.
Snowy Entertainments
Canada at Christmas time is a real winter wonderland, often heavily covered in snow.
It’s no wonder that Canadian favorite Christmas entertainments are snowshoeing, skiing, snowboarding, playing snowballs, and building snowmen.
Families and friends love to gather together to get far from the city rush into the mountains to enjoy breathtakingly beautiful views and do extreme sports.
And those who prefer calmer pastime can drink some mulled wine sitting near the fireplace or in a funicular cabin.
Surprising someone with skiing or snowboarding is hard, but some Canadian winter activities are more noteworthy. How about experiencing yourself in Santa’s role by trying out sleigh rides?
If you ever visit Canada at Christmas time, consider going on a sleigh adventure through a snowy forest or on an ice-covered lake.
The sleigh can be dragged either by horses or by huskies. Unfortunately, reindeer sleigh rides are not available.
Another amusing Canadian Christmas entertainment is fat biking.
These bikes are created for the toughest winter conditions and feature extra-wide tires to handle snowy tracks. This activity will certainly be appreciated by the bravest sports enthusiasts.
But Canadian nature can offer not solely snow and ice. It’s also rich with hot mineral springs where you can soak after a long day in the cold. Amazing scenery surrounding the springs is a nice bonus.
B?che de No?l
Bûche de Noël translates as Yule Log from French. To explain this tradition, I should start from pagan times. Norse pagans used to burn a large log during the Yule season marking winter solstice to ward off evil spirits.
Over time, the tradition of burning the Yule Log, along with many others, has morphed into a Christmas custom.
Christians in Britain, Central, and Northern Europe used to burn a log throughout the twelve days of Christmas and had numerous beliefs associated with this practice.
In the 19th century, the French came up with the idea of a chocolate sponge roulette filled with chocolate buttercream, resembling the Yule Log.
The surface of the dessert is traditionally textured to replicate a tree trunk and decorated with berries or holly leaves.
The dessert quickly became widespread in Belgium, Switzerland, and former French colonies, including Canada.
Today, Canadians rarely burn real logs throughout the Christmas season, but Bûche de Noël is a must on the Canadian Christmas menu.
R?veillon & Midnight Mass
Religious Christians in many regions, including Canada, refrain from meat, fat foods, and alcohol on Christmas Eve. In the evening, they attend the church for the Midnight Mass celebrating the birth of Christ.
The tradition of attending the Midnight Mass stems from the fourth century in Rome and has reached the Western world in the mid-fifth century. Interestingly, the Midnight Mass doesn’t usually happen at midnight but rather at 10pm.
When Canadians come home from church, they gather for a traditional feast called Réveillon.
The name of the feast is derived from French for waking, “réveil,” because it’s customarily to stay awake throughout the entire night.
Staying awake on Christmas night may not seem extraordinary today.
But back when the tradition appeared, people used to go to bed early and wake up early for work on farms and didn’t have electricity. Thus, it was seen as a truly special occasion.
Réveillon foods tend to be truly luxurious and indulgent. Forget about turkey and stuffing or pigs in blankets (though they’re undoubtedly delicious) – the real Réveillon dishes are lobster, foie gras, and escargots.
In ancient times, women would cook for weeks in advance in preparation for Réveillon. Nowadays, many foods are readily available in stores. And yet, Canadian women still can easily spend the entire day in the kitchen.
Canada isn’t the only country observing the Réveillon. It’s also a common practice in France, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, and the New Orleans region.
However, since the 1970s’, the tradition is seeing a decline in popularity. Fewer people are attending church at midnight and, consequently, the Christmas dinner is often moved to an earlier time.
Some churches host Midnight Masses at 6pm, striving to attract more visitors.
Canadian Christmas Food
Food is an important part of any Christmas celebration, regardless of the country. Although Canada is neighboring the USA, the Christmas menus in our countries are rather different.
Canadian traditional Christmas dinner is heavily influenced by French culture. It’s no wonder, considering the country’s historical background and the percent of the French population.
Some of the Canadian favorite holiday dishes include tourtières (small meat pies), Buche de Noel you’re already familiar with, foie gras, butter tarts, and souffle vegetables.
A notable dish from British Columbia is the Nanaimo bars – chocolatey squares with vanilla filling.
Some Canadian Christmas foods, however, are pretty standard for the rest of the Western world. These include Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, Christmas fruitcakes, and gingerbread biscuits.
The Christmas fruitcake in Canada is known as Christmas Cake rather than Christmas pudding.
Often, Christmas Cake is replaced with plum pudding. The recipes are similar, but the serving differs. Plum pudding is traditionally covered in rum, whiskey, or brandy and set on fire, symbolically burning our sins away.
Ice cream is a thing in Canada not only in summer but also at Christmas time. Especially seasonal candy cane-flavored ice cream that only appears in stores in November.
As for the drinks, Canadians prefer mulled wine and eggnog.
Mummering
Mummering is an ancient British tradition that appeared in Medieval Times. This custom involves a group of neighbors or friends disguised in creepy or simply odd costumes, often of the opposite gender, walking from house to house.
Mummers would make some sort of performance for the house owners, be it acting, reciting poetry, or dancing.
They often change their voices to prevent the homeowners from guessing their identity, which is the main objective of the tradition.
After the homeowners successfully guess who’s hiding under the masks and rags, they have a drink together with the mummers and bless them before they head to the next house.
This practice is especially strong in Newfoundland, where the annual mummering festival is held since the 19th century.
However, the tradition was banned for nearly a century in the 1860s, as it grew a bit violent. People found mummering a great pretext for robbing people’s houses.
Christmas Tree for Boston
Every year since 1971, Nova Scotia donates a large Christmas tree to the City of Boston. This practice is related to a heartwarming story that showcases the real spirit of Christmas.
Canadian and French ships collided and exploded in Halifax Harbor in December 1917, and over 2,000 people have died.
The City of Boston then sent supplies and medical aid to Nova Scotians. The Christmas tree serves as a sign of gratitude for five decades.
