Merry Christmas! On this wonderful holiday as you’re claiming that last bit of turkey, sipping that glass of wine, or unwrapping the last few presents, we’re not going to bore you with details about mortgages or lines of credit. It’s the holidays, and we want to add a little fun to yours! To do so, here are some fun facts about Christmas in Canada that you may not have known before.
Canada is in A Christmas Story
Yes, the setting for this story is in the United States, but much of it was filmed right here in Canada. All of the inside scenes, Ralphie’s school, and the Chinese restaurant that hosted Ralphie’s family’s Christmas dinner were all shot in Canada!
You’re not allowed to give the Prime Minister a present
Sure, you may think he’s done a great job this year. Or maybe you don’t, but feel that everyone deserves a little something at Christmas. And while that may be true, thanks to The Federal Accountability Act of 2006, no serving prime minister is allowed to accept cash gifts, gift cards, or any perishable items such as Christmas cookies.
Alberta spends the most on Christmas
Is this surprising to anyone? Not only are they enjoying a fantastic economy right now, Stats Can reports that Alberta residents spent the most on Christmas – to the tune of $967 for the average person. But while that may not be surprising, you may be somewhat shocked to hear that those in the Yukon and Northwest Territories ranked second and third – at $928 and $926, respectively.
Many of Santa’s elves are Canadian!
If you have children, you know all about the deal Canada Post has on Santa letters. Your child can write a letter to Santa, and they’ll actually receive one back! While Santa receives 20 million letters from children all around the world before his big trip on Christmas Eve, Canada Post volunteers spend 200,000 hours to help deliver his responses back!
Canadians love shopping almost as much as they love wine!
Canadians love to shop and, according to Stats Can, of the $3.2 billion that Canadians spend at Christmas, most of it is done at department stores. And after all that spending, we spend a little more! Stats Can also shows that we spend about $1.6 billion in beer, liquor, and wine.
We have fantastic Christmas carolers!
Last year Michael Buble’s CD sold 2.45 million copies in the United States. That’s a lot of records! In fact, the only record to beat it was Adele’s chart-topping 21, which wasn’t even a Christmas album. Considering that Buble’s was only on the shelves for a few weeks, that’s fairly remarkable!
We love green Christmases!
Okay, maybe we don’t like our lawns to be green, but we do like the inside of our homes to be! Each year Canada harvests on average, 5.5 million trees, meaning that there’s one for about every seven people. But we don’t always keep them all. In 2006 we sent 2.5 million of them over to Japan, Mexico, Jamaica, the United States, and over 20 more countries!
Rudolph is Canadian (or at least his voice is)
And so are all of the other voices that you hear in the classic holiday anime, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. There is one exception to this rule – Sam the Snowman that you see throughout? Not a Canuck.
We like our cities to remind us of Christmas
Reindeer Station in the Northwest Territories; Christmas Island in Nova Scotia; Turkey Point in Ontario; and Snowflake in Manitoba are just a few of the holiday-themed names you’ll come across if you’re ever lucky enough to travel all the way across our great land.
Do you know any other Canadian Christmas trivia? Let us know in the comment section below and then, continue having a very Merry Christmas!
