Christmas in Canada!

Ho, Ho! Here comes the much awaited Christmas in Canada. From my childhood, I have always wanted to have a Christmas tree in my home but somehow it had never materialised. I am sure all of you love watching the movie Home Alone and its sequels. I still enjoy watching these movies if I get a chance!

I called upon my close friend Radhika, who lives in Canada with her family for more than six years now.  I still remember the school project that we had done together on ‘festivals across India’. We had lot of fun, especially when it came to doing on Christmas – decorating our project pages with pictures of snow, Christmas tree, Santa Claus etc...

After catching up on our lives from where we left, I asked her, ‘Hey, now that you have been here for years, you must have certainly witnessed and enjoyed the Christmas celebrations here. Tell me about your experiences of Christmas in this country”. She bounced up excitedly and narrated all that she had seen and heard.

‘Christmas celebration in Canada is full of wonderful traditions. I look forward to it after a long and busy year. You know, 31st October every year is Halloween in Canada, the day where kids dress up in costumes and go ‘trick or treat’ (going door to door asking for candy). The day after Halloween, stores and malls take out their entire Christmas inventory so people can start decorating their home in green, red and white. Also in the month of November leafless trees are illuminated with Christmas lights.  Snowflakes start falling. So Christmas starts nearly 2 months in advance’.

‘Vow! That sounds like a lot of fun and a great start to a grand festival’, I said. She smiled and continued, ‘There are ten States in Canada and each State celebrates Christmas in a different way. The Santa Claus Parade in Toronto, Ontario is one of the oldest and largest Santa parades in the world! Santa would be pulled through the streets of Toronto with children marching along with him. It’s been taking place for over 100 years and is a huge event. It’s also telecast on TV around the world’, Radhika paused for a while.

‘Having come here now, you should never miss it’, Radhika sounded eager.

‘Certainly not! And it is you who is going to take me there’, I said teasingly. ‘Of course, with pleasure’, she said excitedly ‘You know something? I once had the opportunity to witness the Christmas Light-up Contest in Labrador City in Newfoundland. People light up their houses and also have variety of big ice sculptures in their front gardens! Labrador City has about 12-14 ft. of snowfall every year!’ I just went back to being a 5 year old listening to her, open-mouthed.

‘In Quebec, it’s another story. At the end of the Christmas season, ie. 6th January the following year, people in Quebec celebrate *‘‘La Fete du Roi”. They bake a cake and hide a bean in the middle of the cake. Whoever finds the bean would be the king or queen, according to tradition’. ‘That’s interesting.  Never heard of a ruler being selected this way”, I said.

‘There are other traditions like sending the best fir tree from Nova Scotia in Canada to Boston, USA as a sort of thanksgiving for their support during Halifax Explosion disaster. And...our dear Santa...who opens up the shops in big malls across the country, accompanied by his elves. Barley candies and Chicken bone candies are quite popular. Barley candies are shaped like Santa, reindeer, snowmen and other symbols of Christmas. Chicken Bones are pink- coloured candies that taste like cinnamon. They melt in your mouth and reveal a creamy milk chocolate center’. She went on to explain and I was already smacking my lips. How yummy!

Before I took leave, I hugged my friend and thanked her for the wonderful, quality time spent together. On my way back home, I imagined myself to be a part of the parade with Santa in Toronto, trying to make an ice sculpture in Labrador City, being crowned the queen in Quebec and finally decorating my own Christmas tree at home. I walked into my home, singing merrily my favourite Christmas carol ‘Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...’! Can’t wait to celebrate my first Christmas in Canada.

-Aarthi Yogendarrdass