Holidays Across Borders: The True Spirit of Celebrations in Canada
Holidays are the perfect excuse to enjoy life outside of work and spend quality time with loved ones. At Boldr one of our main core beliefs revolves around celebrating our team’s diversity and cultural background while encouraging a work-life balance. This has inadvertently helped us to better navigate holidays for a global team. Because we have a team operating in Canada, we wanted to explore the meaning behind Canada’s traditions in this article. So, prepare for the intoxicating smell of a mid-summer cookout or the heavenly taste of maple syrup on Family Day.
New Year’s Day (Jan 1): Canada commemorates the New Year’s celebrations on the 31st of December with fireworks at midnight. Major cities host incredible celebrations with fireworks displays, live music, and New Year’s Eve parties. In smaller areas, Canadians spend the night ice fishing with friends and family.
Family Day (Feb 19): Observed on the third Monday of February, Family Day is celebrated in most provinces of Canada. This holiday takes place between New Year’s Day and Good Friday and was created to allow people to spend time with their families. Common celebrations include winter activities such as skiing, snowboarding, and attending winter festivals. Family Day falls on the same date as Heritage Day, which some provinces celebrate by exploring their personal heritage and family history.
Good Friday (Apr 7): A day of mourning and quiet prayer amongst many Christians. Some of the activities that take place during this holiday are visiting church, observing a partial fast, and not consuming meat. Good Friday is recognized as a statutory holiday for all Canadians, regardless of their religious beliefs.
Victoria Day (May 24): Queen Victoria reigned in the United Kingdom in the late 1800s and made up an essential part of Canadian history. This day commemorates Queen Victoria’s birthday and was declared a holiday in 1845 by the Legislature of the Province of Canada. Although many British people don’t celebrate this holiday anymore, in Canada, this holiday represents the beginning of summer festivities where people step out to enjoy the parades and fireworks.
Canada Day (Jul 1): This is an important holiday for Canadians as it celebrates the anniversary of the Constitution Act of 1867. This document consolidated three territories into the single nation of Canada. Surprisingly, this holiday didn’t gain relevance until 1967, when patriotism soared on the 100th anniversary of the nation’s consolidation. Today, Canada Day is celebrated all over the country, and its citizens celebrate the good old Canadian way.
Labor Day (Sept 4): Labor Day was originally a holiday created to give workers a chance to campaign and work towards better working conditions and higher wages. Citizens used to organize parades and picnics and attended other gatherings arranged by trade unions. Although these events are still relevant to some, today’s Labor Day is an occasion to take a late summer trip to the country, enjoying the company of family and friends. Canadian football is also an important part of this celebration, as many people gather to watch the Labor Day Classic matches live or on television.
Thanksgiving Day (Oct 9): The first Canadian Thanksgiving dates back to 1578, celebrating the safe arrival of explorer Martin Frobisher to Newfoundland. Over time, Thanksgiving Day evolved from a month-to-month celebration into a celebration for a bountiful fall harvest, where people expressed their gratitude to God. Although there are differences between American and Canadian Thanksgiving traditions, this is a time to celebrate with family, welcome the fall, and eat sweet butter tarts or pumpkin pie.
Christmas Day (Dec 25): In Canada, Christmas is celebrated similarly to how it is in other Western countries. In many provinces, people start decorating 3–4 weeks before Christmas to start celebrations. Many Canadians take time off on the afternoon of the 24th to spend time with family or do last-minute Christmas shopping. On the 25th, families gather to eat roast turkey with seasonal vegetables and drink eggnog.
Boxing Day (Dec 26): This holiday originated in Great Britain and was celebrated the day after Christmas. Servants would get the day off to spend with their families, and employers would give them boxes to take home. These boxes would often contain gifts, food, and sometimes even money. It is a holiday celebrated amongst the Commonwealth countries. Boxing Day is now an opportunity to gather with family and friends you were unable to visit during Christmas.
Boldr builds multicultural and diverse teams that lead to successful journeys for businesses, celebrating holidays that honor family values and team members’ backgrounds. If you are interested in building your team from scratch or expanding your existing one, reach out to us here.
Aitana Rangel Garibay is Boldr’s creative writer and she is passionate about writing purpose-driven stories.
