Christmas in Canada

A Coming-together of Cultures

By Kelly Burgess

Pages: 1 2 3

Mitchell Brown of Toronto, Ontario is something of an expert on Christmas in his country. At one time he even had a site about Christmas in Canada for Yahoo! Canada. Although he says he just did it for fun, he admits that he really loves Christmas. His favorite story is about a special Christmas tree that reminds Canadians of a special link between them and their neighbors to the south.

On December 6, 1917, a terrible accident nearly obliterated the city of Nova Scotia. At 8:45 that morning, two ships collided, the Imo and the Mont Blanc. Loaded with explosives, the Mont Blanc blew up in what was at that time the world's largest man-made explosion.

With half of the city destroyed and many of its people dead and dying, Halifax was in desperate need of help. Trains from all over Canada and New England brought medical aid, food, clothes, building materials and laborers to rebuild the devastated city. One of the biggest sources of help was the city of Boston, whose citizens sent millions of dollars worth of aid and supplies.

In gratitude, the people of Halifax presented Boston with one of the province's finest trees to serve as the city's official Christmas tree in Boston Common. Every year since, a special Nova Scotia tree is selected and shipped to Boston to show the province's thanks for its neighbor's help in its time of need.

Because Canada and the United States share similar antecedents, many of their traditions are similar as well. Visitors to either country at this time of year would feel right at home. With the many and diverse cultures, any Christmas-time visitor would find something that made them feel as if they'd never left their own country.

Imagine opening the door and finding an odd assortment of raucous characters dressed in sheets, cast-off clothing, masks, feathers, make-up and other strange garb. What's more, they're pounding on homemade instruments, insulting you and making rude noises! If it's Christmas in Newfoundland, you grin broadly and invite them in, happy to be singled out by a group of mummers. Then you sit back and enjoy the show.

Mummering is a long-standing tradition in Newfoundland. Brought to Canada by settlers from England and Ireland, it has largely died out everywhere else, but continues to thrive in Newfoundland. Chris Brookes, who grew up in St. John's Newfoundland, is the founder and former artistic director of Mummers Troupe Theatre in Newfoundland. He is also the author of A Public Nuisance: A History of the Mummers Troupe.

Brookes grew up in the city, and when he was a child, mummering was outlawed, but he was aware it went on and became increasingly interested in the tradition as he got older.

"Where I grew up, mummering wasn't a very good idea because it's done by masked people, and there's not a great sense of trust in the city," says Brookes. "The excuse was that there was to avoid sectarian violence, but in actuality, it was just a fear of the unknown. The mummers were never dangerous."

In spite of its ban in the city, mummering continued in the more rural areas of Newfoundland. Brookes says it works there because everyone knows what it is and it's not abused. He sees it as a tradition that embodies the spirit of Christmas.

"Christmas is a spirit of goodwill to all, and when we go to someone's door, it must be to spread that spirit," says Brookes. "After all, we're giving them entertainment and music. I like to believe we're putting a blessing on the house."

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Christmas in Canada

A Coming-together of Cultures

By Kelly Burgess

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