Things to Do in Canada 151

December 20, 2023

Good morning!

Did you know? Considering the land mass of Canada, it might make sense that we grow a lot of Christmas trees. But even we were surprised that Canada exports more than two million Christmas trees to over 25 Countries, including France, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

Speaking of Christmas trees, this is the last newsletter before the big day, so we wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We truly appreciate you being part of our unique Canadian community and we look forward to helping you learn about and explore this fascinating country.

So without further ado, the 151st edition of the Weekly Goose features stories about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his connection to Canada, the theory that Christmas originated thanks to magic mushrooms, what Christmas looks like across Canada, and more!

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Canadian Spider-Man?

One of the favourite holiday traditions for many families, mine included, is to watch the classic Rankin and Bass produced “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” stop motion animated special, which has many ties to Canada…

ottawarewind.com/2020/12/07/rudolph-the-red-nosed-canadian-spider-man

Christmas in Canada

Despite Christmas taking place in many warm countries worldwide, it's often marketed everywhere as a white Christmas, full of snow, Christmas lights, and various decorations. Growing up in

www.mustdocanada.com/christmas-in-canada

22 Places to Experience Christmas in Canada

In the winter, Canada is truly a winter wonderland. It's the epitome of what we all imagine a white Christmas to be. Most landscapes are covered in soft white snow while sparkling snowflakes fall from

12 holiday movies with Canadian connections to stream this season

While Hollywood has its appeal, Canadian cities and towns are often prime destinations for filming these Christmas gems.

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Ever wonder how Santa and the elves came to be? One popular theory suggests it was thanks to magic mushrooms.

Beaver Bites

  • As we all know, Christmas brings lots of gifts, but if you care about the environment, you may want to take it easy on the gift wrap. 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper will make it into Canadian landfills this season, which is the equivalent weight of 100,000 elephants. Throw in six million rolls of tape and you can see how wasteful the season has become. Maybe use gift bags, which can be reused year after year.

  • Tourism is red hot again in Canada. Almost $110 billion was spent across Canada’s tourism industry in 2023. This amount still hasn’t reached pre-pandemic spending levels when factoring in inflation, but it’s certainly moving up.

  • Ever wonder why air travel is so expensive in Canada? Blame the government.

  • Have you ever travelled to famous destinations only to wait hours in line for one of the top attractions? We’ve all been there and this list ranks the world’s worst lines for tourist attractions. Thankfully, we didn’t spot Canada on there.

  • Big vs small: How Canadian airlines are using NDAs to keep passengers quiet about bad service.

  • I guess it’s not just Calgary. Coast to coast, December has been a record-breaking month for mild weather in December.

  • Remember the incredibly heart-warming story of the small town in Newfoundland taking in all the passengers that got stranded there due to 9/11? I mean, it became a Broadway sensation called Come From Away. Well, it sort of happened again. Newfoundland’s Happy Valley-Goose Bay hosted hundreds of passengers overnight on a military base after a flight was forced to land after a mechanical issue. Residents lent a helping hand and gave out hot chocolate.

  • If you’re really into Tim Horton’s, you can maybe even turn it into a trip around the world. Tim Hortons opened its first-ever location in Seoul the other day and plans to open 150 more locations in South Korea in the next five years. You can now find the coffee chain in Dubai, China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Mexico, and the USA.

  • Is Nova Scotia’s “Woody the Christmas Tree” creepy or cool?