With it’s 10 distinct provinces and three territories, Canada is truly a multi-cultured country. Our English, French, Acadian, Scandinavian and mid-European ancestors immigrated to Canada to find a new life, but to this new life, they brought their own traditions and customs. We have also received immigrants from Asia, Africa, South America and the Caribbean, again all bringing their cultures to the mix. Of course, the original people, the North American aboriginals also have traditions that many of us have adopted. So to define Canadian culture we must look at our rich history and create a varied tapestry by combining the customs, recipes, songs and stories into a unique blend that we define as Canadian. No season is more strongly represented in this tapestry than that of the Christmas Season.

Canadian Christmas Traditions by DeeAnn Mandryk gives us a history of some of the different Christmas traditions that we have adopted as our own. Starting with chapters that list and discuss our Christmas heritage we read about Christmas trees, ornaments, Yule Logs, origin of the Advent, Christmas candles and lighting, and the uniquely Commonwealth holiday of Boxing Day and many more. The author has also included a couple of chapters dedicated to Canadian Festive recipes.

I tend to be the grinch in our family, finding Christmas a lot of work and disruption. I was hoping this book would spark my interest in the festive season but although I found the book interesting, it hasn’t really fired up my enthusiasm for the upcoming holiday. ( )