Canada is a land made for Christmas.Most areas in this country have snow inDecember, turning the drab, early-winterlandscape into a dazzling whiteness worthy of a Christmas card. Most Canadians live within easy distance of vast stretches of open land, close to the pines, cedar, and spruce that epitomize the holiday season. And, despite urban sprawl and modernization, we have managed to preserve enough historic architecture to effortlessly re-create Christmas scenes that seem to have been lifted right out of the pages of Dickens.At first glance, many of our Christmas traditions appearto have come from the same source, Victorian England. Cedar garlands strung along railings, holly arranged on mantelpieces, mistletoe dangling from doorways, caroling, and festive toasts — all are part of that legacy. Even the Christmas tree, which originated in Germany, comes to us in part because of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s holiday celebration.But Christmas was celebrated in Canada long beforeVictorian times.

Well before roast turkey and goose graced festive tables, early settlers dined on local fare — fish caught in rushing streams, deer from the vast forests, beaver tail or moose nose. Tourtière, the savoury French-Canadian pie now made with pork or beef, was originally filled with the meat of passenger pigeons.From the earliest time of European settlement,Canadians have adapted Old World Christmas traditionsto New World conditions. The result has been a uniquelyCanadian blend. For instance, when French priest Jean de Brébeuf wrote the first Canadian Christmas carol for the Huron of his Ontario mission in 1643, he combined a French folk tune, Christian traditions, and Native hunters in a lyrical ballad. Jesous Ahatonhia, familiar from coast to coast as the Huron Carol,” remains one of the most haunting and most Canadian sounds of the season.Despite such shared traditions, it is difficult to defineChristmas in Canada. Outside of Newfoundland, fewCanadians engage in mumming, where men and womencross-dress, cover their faces, and visit their neighboursto enjoy food and drink.

Many Canadians have never tasted kolach, the traditional bread served during Ukrainian Christmas festivities. If you are a Newfoundlander or a Ukrainian-Canadian, mummers and kolach are an integral part of seasonal celebrations. If you are not, both may seem interesting and exotic, but hardly necessary for a memorable Christmas.One thing that is common across the country is therange of emotions the season evokes. When we celebrate the holiday, we are often caught in a kind of mental time warp. On the one hand, there is Christmas Present, the here-andnow occasion. On the other, there is Christmas Past, all the other Christmases we remember. Existing side by side in our hearts and minds, Christmas Past and Christmas Present colour our perceptions of the holiday, stirring up a gamut of emotions, ranging from overwhelming sadness to joy.

Generally thought of as one of the happiest days of theyear, Christmas can be one of the most bittersweet. Morethan any other day, Christmas is when we want to reachout, to say or show how much we love the people who are important to us. When we cannot, we long for the faces and places we love. Immigrants to Canada, from the earliest settlers to recent arrivals, have felt this as they celebrate far from homelands and families they may never see again. So have other Canadians with loved ones far away. Perhaps the most bittersweet Christmases, though, were those experiencedduring wartime, when, in addition to the loneliness of separation, there was the gnawing anxiety that the empty chair at the table might never be filled again.But Christmas is primarily a time of joy and thanksgiving. There is the exuberant excitement of children who cannot wait to see what Santa Claus has brought them, the quiet contentment of elders surrounded by beloved generations of family.

There is the joy of reunion, especially afte.