- Christmas trees on the shoreline in Dundarave
Yes, it is December and I cannot ignore Christmas any longer. I thought you might like to know how the holiday season (to be Politically Correct) works out here in Canada.
Thanksgiving is the start of the season. You can choose between the earlier Canadian one, or the later US one, depending on when you want to start eating turkey. As our oldest daughter said the other night, turkeys have a hard time of it in North America since they are the bird of choice for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Even this week I was hard pressed to find a sandwich that was not turkey when I was looking for lunch in Cambie village.
December seems to be the time to decorate the outside of the house with lights. We put ours up last week and so did all but two of our neighbours. I am betting the ones holding back are looking to dazzle us with their shows by the weekend.
Vancouver also goes in for lights. There are too many places to mention, but Stanley Park, Capilano Suspension Bridge and Van Dusen Gardens all have displays that are worth a visit.
If you don’t want to gawk at the lights, you might as well go shopping. Retailers tend to have sales, following on from the US “Black Friday” tradition of sales to mark the start of the shopping season. I hear people saying they have finished their Christmas shopping already – and here I am just wondering if I should make a list!
The next task will be getting the Christmas tree. The garden centres already have trees in them but as yet the specialized tree lots have not opened up. Nor have I seen cars with trees tied to the roof. That is a week or so away. Perhaps because the local mountains and Whistler have had a lot of snow lately and conditions up there are more appealing than wrestling a Douglas Fir onto the roof of your car. That can wait anyway – there’s no shortage of trees here!