Winter in Canada is a season rich with holidays, traditions, and celebrations that reflect the country’s diverse cultural and religious communities.
For newcomers and long-time residents alike, these holidays provide a time to connect, reflect, and celebrate through family, cultural, and community customs.
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In this article, we’ll highlight eight of the holidays and festivities newcomers observe across Canada, before and after Christmas.
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Christian traditions—including Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant churches—and spans the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, honouring the birth of Jesus Christ. It gets its name from the Latin word for “arrival” (adventus).
Each week focuses on one of the four central themes: hope, peace, joy, and love, and is traditionally marked by lighting candles on an Advent wreath, reading Scripture, attending church services, and spending time in prayer and contemplation. Fasting during Advent was historically common and is still practiced by some to this day.
In contemporary Canada, Advent has taken on a broader cultural significance beyond its religious roots. Advent calendars, originally designed to help children count down the days until Christmas, have become widely popular among children and adults alike, regardless of religious affiliation. They typically feature chocolate, small gifts, or themed surprises—but can really include a vast array of goodies.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah (or Chanukah in Hebrew) is a Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days, observed according to the Hebrew calendar and starting on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev—typically falling in November or December.
The most famous Hanukkah tradition is the lighting of a nine-branched candelabra (or menorah)—one for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, plus a shamash (helper candle) to light the others. They are generally lit after sundown from left to right, and blessings are said before the candles are lit. One candle is lit on the first night, two on the second, and so forth—until all candles burn together on the final night.
Other activities common during the Jewish festival of light include the singing of traditional songs, enjoying Chanukah foods (the classic being the potato latke), playing dreidel, and giving Chanukah gelt (gifts of money) to children.
Hanukkah began over 2,200 years ago when the Jewish Maccabees reclaimed the Second Temple in Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire. It is celebrated to honor the miracle of a small amount of oil that kept the Temple’s menorah burning for eight days.
Boxing Day
Celebrated on December 26 each year, Boxing Day comes directly after Christmas and is a statutory holiday for Ontario residents and federally regulated employees across Canada.
Boxing Day has become synonymous with major sales and discounts, with many Canadians taking to the shops to snag deals—with some even lining up early for the best bargains.
But that’s not all; it’s also a day marked by community and shared celebration. People gather to watch or attend sporting games (generally hockey or soccer), host casual gatherings with friends and family, and/or partake in outdoor activities like ice skating.
It originated in Britain (during Queen Victoria’s reign), wherein the upper class would give boxes filled with food, money, or gifts to servants, tradespeople, or those in poverty.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is an annual cultural celebration honouring African heritage, culture, and community, observed from December 26 to January 1. It was first created in 1966 and popularized in the 1980s and 1990s.
Kwanzaa is structured around the Nguzo Saba, a set of seven guiding principles. One principle is observed each day, symbolized by lighting a candle on the kinara, the seven-branched candleholder. The seven principles include:
- Umoja (unity).
- Kujichagula (elf-determination).
- Ujima (collective work and responsibility).
- Ujamaa (cooperative Economics).
- Nia (purpose).
- Kuumba (creativity).
- Imani (faith).
Throughout the seven-day celebration, families gather and celebrate through song, storytelling, dance, and on the final day: gift exchange and a communal potluck-style feast called Karamu.
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St. Nicholas Day
St. Nicholas Day is a Christian tradition honoring St. Nicholas of Myra, a 4th-century bishop known for his generosity and care for children. It is celebrated primarily by families of European heritage, including Dutch, German, Polish, and other Central and Eastern European communities.
On the eve of December 5 or on December 6, children often place their shoes or stockings near a fireplace, doorway, or windowsill. According to tradition, St. Nicholas “visits” during the night and fills the shoes with small gifts, candies, gold (chocolate) coins, or other treats.
Some families also include notes of thanks or prayers. In certain communities, the day may include parades, church services, or community gatherings, emphasizing generosity, kindness, and the spirit of giving.
Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is celebrated by many East Asian communities in Canada, including Chinese, Vietnamese (as Tết), Korean (Seollal), and others. The date varies each year, usually falling between late January and mid-February, based on the lunar calendar.
The holiday marks the beginning of a new year according to lunar cycles and is a time for family reunions, honouring ancestors, and welcoming good fortune.
Common traditions include decorating homes with red ornaments, banners, and lanterns, which symbolize luck and prosperity. Families prepare and share special meals, such as dumplings, spring rolls, fish, and pork dishes—with symbolic meanings of wealth, health, and happiness often attached.
Other popular customs include giving red envelopes (hongbao or lai see) containing money, performing lion and dragon dances, setting off fireworks, and cleaning the home before the new year to sweep away bad luck.
Three Kings Day
Three Kings Day, also known as Epiphany, is a Christian holiday celebrated on January 6 that commemorates the visit of the Magi (Three Wise Men or Kings) to the baby Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The holiday is observed particularly by Catholic, Orthodox, and some Protestant communities, often with roots in Spanish, Italian, French, and Latin American traditions—and is particularly popular in Quebec.
In Canada, celebrations are mostly found in communities with European or Latin American heritage. Traditions often include (but are not limited to):
Special church services: Many attend Mass or Epiphany services, sometimes with processions or blessing of homes.
Gift-giving or sweets for children: In some cultures, children receive small gifts or candies, reflecting the gifts the Magi brought to Jesus.
King Cake or similar festive foods: Families and communities often bake a King Cake (with a hidden figurine or coin) or other traditional desserts to mark the day.
Community events: Some churches or cultural organizations hold public celebrations, often with music, dance, and storytelling.
In Canada, it’s a way for immigrant communities to preserve their heritage, sharing these customs within multicultural settings.
Makar Sankranti (Sankranti)
Makar Sankranti is a Hindu festival celebrated to mark the sun’s transition into the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Makara), symbolizing the lengthening of days after the winter solstice and the arrival of warmer, more auspicious times. It is one of the few Hindu festivals that is based on the solar calendar, so its date remains relatively fixed each year, usually falling on January 14 or 15.
In Canada, Sankranti is celebrated by Hindu and Indian diaspora communities, particularly those from South and West India. Traditions typically include activities like visiting local Hindu temples for special pujas or rituals honouring the sun god, and cultural gatherings—Indian community organizations host festivals, kite-flying events (weather-dependent), music, performances, and feasts. Families prepare til (sesame) sweets, jaggery-based treats, and special regional dishes to mark the day.
Sankranti is a time of gratitude, community, and renewal, celebrating the sun’s return, prosperity, and new beginnings.
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