Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to 2020. It's a new year and a new decade, so what better time for some new things for Christmas past? In case you missed it, I recently announced that Christmas past is going year-round, starting today. New episodes will arrive twice a month and maybe even more frequently, and feature interviews,

news, short stories, and more. The backstories to your favorite Christmas traditions will continue

to arrive closer to Christmas time, just like always. And once a month, we'll be taking a trip to

somewhere around the world to see the customs that make Christmas unique in different countries.

Those episodes, and you're listening to one of them right now, are hosted by Shantel Joy and her special

guests. You know Shantel from her website, Facebook, and YouTube channel, All Things Christmas.

Now, technically, this episode is the second of its kind, because

Shantel took us to Japan back in October as a bonus episode. Go back and check that out if you

haven't heard it yet. I'll come back at the end to wrap up and say goodbye. But for now,

I'll hand it over to Shantel. It's time to bundle up, practice our French, and watch out for

moose, because the first stop on our trip around the world is to our maple-loving neighbor to the

north. Let's learn about, or should I say let's learn about, what it's like to have a Joyo'Ne'O'Newell

or a Merry Christmas in Canada.

Not all Canadian Christmas traditions are the same,

and the first difference is with the foods.

Where I grew up near Toronto, we had a turkey every Christmas.

Unlike most families, we had our large dinner on Christmas Eve,

a tradition I still keep.

Our roasted turkey was usually served with cranberry sauce and gravy.

Our side dishes were like mashed potatoes, sage stuffing, and veggies like corn, carrots, or broccoli.

More often than not, we'd also have a ham.

The standard turkey dinner seems to be pretty common in most of Canada,

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