Canada’s winter season is filled with vibrant celebrations and cultural festivities, offering newcomers opportunities to connect with family, community, and long-standing traditions.
These holidays blend religious, cultural, and national customs, reflecting Canada’s diversity while providing moments of joy, reflection, and social bonding. This guide explores eight key winter holidays and how newcomers typically celebrate them.
Top Canadian Winter Holidays Celebrated by Newcomers
1. Advent
Advent is observed by many Christian communities, including Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant churches, across the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. The term “Advent” comes from the Latin adventus, meaning “arrival,” and the period focuses on hope, peace, joy, and love. Traditionally, families light candles on an Advent wreath, read Scripture passages, attend church services, and engage in contemplative prayer.
Advent calendars have become a cultural phenomenon beyond their religious origin, allowing children and adults alike to count down the days to Christmas with chocolates, small gifts, or themed surprises.
2. Hanukkah
Hanukkah, also called Chanukah, is an eight-day Jewish celebration starting on the 25th of Kislev (usually in late November or December). Central to the holiday is lighting the menorah, a nine-branched candelabra symbolizing the miracle of oil that lasted eight days in the Second Temple of Jerusalem over 2,200 years ago.
Families light one candle per night with blessings, enjoy traditional foods like potato latkes, play dreidel games, and give children gelt (coins or chocolate). Hanukkah fosters community and spiritual reflection among Jewish Canadians.
3. Boxing Day
Celebrated on December 26, Boxing Day originated in Britain as a day for gifting boxes to servants and the less fortunate. Today, Canadians observe it with a mix of family gatherings, outdoor sports, and, prominently, shopping sales. Many Canadians line up at stores for major discounts, making it a festive and commercial highlight of the winter season.
4. Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa, observed from December 26 to January 1, celebrates African heritage, culture, and community. Founded in 1966, Kwanzaa revolves around the Nguzo Saba, seven principles that include unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Daily candle-lighting on the kinara, storytelling, music, dance, and communal meals called Karamu bring families together, culminating in gift exchanges and reflection on cultural identity.
5. St. Nicholas Day
Celebrated mainly by families of European heritage on December 5–6, St. Nicholas Day honors the generosity of St. Nicholas of Myra. Children place shoes or stockings for small gifts, coins, or treats. Communities often host church services, parades, and gatherings, emphasizing gratitude and the spirit of giving.
6. Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is widely celebrated among Chinese, Vietnamese (Tết), and Korean (Seollal) communities in Canada. Its date varies yearly according to the lunar calendar, typically between late January and mid-February.
Traditions include family reunions, honoring ancestors, decorating homes with red banners, preparing symbolic foods like dumplings, giving red envelopes, performing dragon and lion dances, and setting off fireworks. Lunar New Year promotes luck, prosperity, and cultural continuity.
7. Three Kings Day (Epiphany)
Observed on January 6, Three Kings Day commemorates the Magi’s visit to the infant Jesus and their offering of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It is celebrated mainly by Catholic, Orthodox, and some Protestant communities, particularly those with Spanish, Italian, French, or Latin American roots.
Canadian celebrations include church services, small gifts for children, traditional foods such as King Cake, and public community events with music and dance.
8. Makar Sankranti
Makar Sankranti, observed on January 14 or 15, celebrates the sun’s transition into Capricorn, marking the lengthening of days. Significant to Hindu and Indian communities in Canada, it involves temple visits, kite-flying, music, and communal feasts featuring sesame and jaggery sweets.
Key Takeaways
- The festival represents gratitude, renewal, and new beginnings, blending spiritual observance with vibrant social and cultural activities.
- Participating in these Canadian winter holidays allows newcomers to embrace diverse traditions, strengthen community ties, and enrich their experience of Canadian multicultural life.
- By engaging in these celebrations, immigrants can connect with both cultural heritage and local customs, fostering inclusion and belonging.
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