Student Blog
Christmas in Canada by Kathrin K.
Kathrin was a student at Fernie Secondary School for the 2021-22 school year. She wrote about what it's like to celebrate Christmas in Canada.
This year was the first year that I celebrated Christmas in another country, away from my family, and experienced how different it is. The first thing that was new for me was Christmas tree hunting. My host family and I just went into the forest, picked a tree we liked, and cut it down. I don’t even think that would be legal in Germany. We have Christmas tree farms, where you can go and buy a tree you like.
That you celebrate Christmas on the 25th was also a difference for me. Back home the big celebration is on the night of the 24th. We usually go to church and then have dinner with our family, which is also when we get to open all the presents. With my host family, everyone got to open one present in the evening, but other than that, the day was not really special. But on the 25th my little host siblings woke me up very early, and then we got to open our stockings that we hung up the night before, and also all the presents.
From my host family, I got a really cool bike jersey, but I think the best present was that it snowed 50cm that night and I got to go skiing. The ski hill was pretty much empty and it was awesome.
In the evening we went to have dinner with friends of my host family. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, a nice roast and it tasted really good. For dessert we had apple pie, ice cream and a chocolate cake from the French bakery in town. The food was also very different from what my family always has in Germany. We usually have a pastry for starter and then Vienna sausage with potato salad and a yeast-risen pastry called “Mutschel“, and Mousse au chocolate for dessert. I really enjoyed learning how Christmas is celebrated in another culture, and it didn’t even make me miss my family too much.