# Canadian Christmas?



## TxBuilder (Dec 23, 2009)

You guys do everything else different. What separates Canadian and American Christmas?


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Dec 24, 2009)

Well, Canadians with hunting rifles are much more likely to shoot an elf or a flying reindeer, or even the big guy himself just to have a carcass to prove their existance.

But, I'm not sure you'd call that a way in which Canadians "celebrate" Christmas.


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## oldognewtrick (Dec 24, 2009)

What? No random shouts like at halloween? No gathering around the festivous tree?


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## inspectorD (Dec 24, 2009)

When I was in Alaska I learned plenty about Canada.
They don't celebrate any sports but Hockey,
they don't have time for much in winter except filling the truck with diesel so it can run all winter, and shoveling their way to the truck so they can get to the rink.
The biggest celebration comes at the end of the Polar bear feeding season, when they have a party for all the survivors who made it out to the car or outbuilding at night....oh wait...that is all the time in winter.
And they don't deal with all the garbage we do with Christmas....cause they are smarter than the average bear....they stay out of the US landfill we call society.

Ahhh we should all just sell Christmas to the highest bidder and get on with life.

Scrooge out....

I love Christmas for the presents I make...table for wife....birdfeeders for everyone else...and time spent with family and freinds.:


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## oldognewtrick (Dec 24, 2009)

inspectorD said:


> When I was in Alaska I learned plenty about Canada.
> They don't celebrate any sports but Hockey,
> they don't have time for much in winter except filling the truck with diesel so it can run all winter, and shoveling their way to the truck so they can get to the rink.
> The biggest celebration comes at the end of the Polar bear feeding season, when they have a party for all the survivors who made it out to the car or outbuilding at night....oh wait...that is all the time in winter.
> ...



I guess it wouldn't be Christmas without your Kreig Jig


We want pics of said table. Don't make me post that "this thread is useless without pics" smiley.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Dec 27, 2009)

InspectorD is right on one point at least:  in Canada, Hockey is king.  SOME people take a passing interest in baseball or football, but only because it provides a place to go where you can drink beer and hollar for no apparant reason with likeminded people.  It's hockey that draws the crowds even when it's 40 below and the rink doesn't even sell beer.  You just install a heavy duty battery in your car, plug your car in 4 hours before the game, and leave early so you can get a good seat at the rink.

And, truth is:

1. It's the parents of the little tykes on the ice who are the most avid hockey fans.  They remember playing hockey when they were kids, and they want to relive that experience through their own children.

2. Truth be told, some parents are TOO enthusiastic when it comes to  hockey.  They hollar to their kids to do this, or to do that, and the kid figures that everyone in the place is watching them to see what they're doing wrong.  It's great for kids to learn team work and to make friends by being on the same team, but sometimes their parents can be too enthusiastic about them doing well at the game and end up ruining what would otherwise be a good experience for the kid.  Mothers make better "hockey parents" because they understand that it's just a game.

Basketball in Canada?  Well let's just say it's in the same league as professional soccer... they give the tickets away... if anyone will take them.

Yep, the three most popular sports in Canada are hockey, hockey and hockey, in that order.


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## TxBuilder (Dec 28, 2009)

Canadian Basketball? Are the goals set a six foot? It's the same every where Nestor.
I grew up playing baseball with the exact criteria you established for hockey. It all the same every where you go.


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## handyguys (Dec 28, 2009)

Happy Boxing Day to the Canadians!


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## oldognewtrick (Dec 28, 2009)

inspectorD said:


> When I was in Alaska I learned plenty about Canada.
> They don't celebrate any sports but Hockey,
> they don't have time for much in winter except filling the truck with diesel so it can run all winter, and shoveling their way to the truck so they can get to the rink.
> The biggest celebration comes at the end of the Polar bear feeding season, when they have a party for all the survivors who made it out to the car or outbuilding at night....oh wait...that is all the time in winter.
> ...


:worthless::worthless:

Just made me do it, didn't ya


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Dec 28, 2009)

TxBuilder:
      No, in Canada the basketball hoops are 10 feet off the ground just like in the US.  You might be surprised to learn that the game of basketball was invented by a Canadian;  Dr. James Naismith.
      James Naismith was a Canadian born phys ed instructor working at a boys school in Springfield, Massachusettes.  He was looking for a game that would keep the students at his school in good physical shape through the winter months when it was too cold to do much outside.  So, he fastened some peach baskets to the floor level of an overhead running track, gradually hammered out the basic rules of the game through trial and error, and so was born the game we now know as "Basketball".
History of Basketball - James Naismith
Even today, basketball is one of the basic sports kids in Canada are taught to play.  That, and vollyball.  In the winter months, both provide a great way to burn off spare energy because of all the running and jumping involved.  Any activity that involves lots of running and jumping will keep a person in shape.

Handyguys:
Here in Canada, Boxing Day has become established as the day when all the really good sales happen.  You buy gifts for your friends and relatives for Christmas, but you wait until Boxing Day to buy something for yourself.  It's kinda like the "Black Friday" thing in the US.  It was basically Sears that started the Boxing Day Sale tradition by having their "After Christmas Sale" on the first business day after Christmas, and as the laws changed to allow stores to open when they wanted to, that became the very next day after Christmas, or Boxing Day.  Sears would advertise on TV with the jingle: "Almost everything you wanted but didn't get for Christmas is on sale now at Sears!"  I dunno if it was just me, but that jingle kinda rubbed my fur the wrong way.  What they were really saying was: "OK, now that we both know you don't really need to buy this stuff for Christmas anymore, we're gonna put it all on sale."  Nowadays, most stores in Canada that open on Boxing day, especially the electronics stores, typically have a big blow-out sale that day.

I used to get up real early and stand in line for the stores to open on Boxing day, but I guess it's just not in me anymore to do that.  I've come to appreciate good sleep more than good bargains.


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## frozenstar (Dec 29, 2009)

Very nice info Nestor.  That's kinda new to me.


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## TxBuilder (Dec 29, 2009)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> TxBuilder:
> No, in Canada the basketball hoops are 10 feet off the ground just like in the US.  You might be surprised to learn that the game of basketball was invented by a Canadian;  Dr. James Naismith.
> James Naismith was a Canadian born phys ed instructor working at a boys school in Springfield, Massachusettes.  He was looking for a game that would keep the students at his school in good physical shape through the winter months when it was too cold to do much outside.  So, he fastened some peach baskets to the floor level of an overhead running track, gradually hammered out the basic rules of the game through trial and error, and so was born the game we now know as "Basketball".
> History of Basketball - James Naismith
> ...



Oh I knew all this. The made us learn about it in school. 

In regards to the sales. I bought 5lbs of m&m's yesterday when I was at the grocery store because they were on sale. I'm going to be eating red and green m&m's till summer.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Dec 29, 2009)

5 pounds of M&M's?

They must sell it by the pail!


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## TxBuilder (Dec 29, 2009)

No but it was bag fulls upon bag fulls and my thought was "I buy them all year round, How could this go bad?". Thinking about them gives me equal feelings of nausea and excitement. 

If they sold them in a pail at least I would have a nice m&m's bucket.


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