Canadian Values

When you are travelling abroad and people hear you speak English, they usually assume that you are from America. Immediately, you become defensive and correct them, making sure they know that you are Canadian. Why is this?

As a nation, we are proud of our identity. However,

many of us cannot articulate what it means to be Canadian, only that our country is different, and better than, the United States.

Living in the shadow of our neighbour to the South, the United States, we are greatly influenced by their culture. We are both free, democratic societies, and we have strong ties to each other, but the two countries are very different. The best way to highlight these differences is to compare Canadian values to those of Americans.

“We like the cold and don’t complain,” is how my brother describes being Canadian (J. Roud). In this country, winter can be brutal. Most of us would not say that we actually enjoy being cold, but without winter we would not have many of our favourite things, such as: hockey, skiing, maple syrup, and there would be no need for Tim Horton’s coffee for warmth. Even if we do not like the cold, we stay quiet because we are too nice and polite, two traits not often used when describing Americans.

Another one of the main factors that sets these two great nations apart is the government structure and economy. One follows a belief in a social welfare system, while the other pushes more individualism and capitalism. This can be seen in its most basic form in the two countries’ slogans: “Peace, Order, and Good Government” in Canada, and “The Pursuit of Happiness” in the US. When asked what the biggest difference between the two countries is, my mom says, “America is more capitalist, while Canada takes a more socialist approach,” (A. Roud). Many Canadians are happy to say that they have always had universal healthcare and can go to the doctors without paying out of pocket, while this is still a contentious issue for the States, making us more fortunate. This does come at a price though, namely much higher taxes.

Continuing, Canadians also like to believe that our society is a cultural mosaic, or “The Tossed Salad,” people can come and live here without full assimilation. In contrast, America is viewed as “The Melting Pot,” where immigrants are encouraged to become “American.” This shows how the United States is proud of its culture and history and would like to share that with others without altering it, while Canada has the desire to grow its roots, learn from other cultures, and change with its people.

However, even though modern Canada is influenced by America in many ways, and we may seem so similar, Canadians do have a distinct culture. The three main differences are: our passions, our government, and our diversity of citizens. As a nation, we are proud to be Canadians, and deserve to be, because of this great land we call our home.

Works Cited

Roud, Amanda. Interview. 6 Jan. 2018.

Roud, Jack. Interview. 4 Jan. 2018.

Unknown. American Influence. Wikimedia Commons, upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Flag_map_of_Canada_and_United_States_%28American_Flag%29.png.

---. Canadian Starter Pack. StarterPack Memes, www.starterpackmemes.com/img/uploads/2476_canadian-stereotypes.jpg.

---. Diversity. Blogspot, 1.bp.blogspot.com/_dan-4F-nkSo/TOdVZ9M8BsI/AAAAAAAABKE/A7ZAsNIUOdc/s1600/AmericaIsMessyFoodEitherWay.jpg.

---. I Am Canadian. Huffington Post, o.aolcdn.com/images/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/1200x630/format/jpg/quality/85/http%3A%2F%2Fi.huffpost.com%2Fgen%2F1210718%2Fimages%2Fh-MOLSON-I-AM-CANADIAN-RETURNS-628x314.jpg.

---. North America Flag Map. Viktoria, viktoria.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/depositphotos_51647815-North-America-Map-With-Flags.gif.

---. Polite Meme. WannaJoke, wanna-joke.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/funny-picture-canadians-are-too-polite.jpg.

Puzzle of Our Pasts

Ancestry is like a puzzle, made up of many different pieces of all shapes and sizes, coming from all different parts of the world. However, one piece that makes up who I am is American. My mom has a dual-citizenship. She was born in Canada as a product of a multinational love story.

My Papa Dude was a Canadian hockey player, given a scholarship to University of New Hampshire. My grandma was studying home economics at the University. As a way to make some money, he washed dishes for the sorority she happened to be living in. At risk of being drafted to the Vietnamese war, because he had been living in the US long enough to qualify, they fled to Canada to get married and start a family, leaving all of her family behind.

Even though I was born and raised Canadian, a portion of my identity is American. My mom’s entire family, less her two sisters, live in and around Pennsylvania. Since this, we do not get to see them often, but we continue the family’s ways with or without them. We celebrate American Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, and we fly the flag.

People find it quite funny that I have two months of Thanksgiving festivities but to me it is normal. In the States, Thanksgiving is a time of gathering with all of your extended family and feasting together. But, since we do not have these family members to celebrate with, we decided to “just eat turkey and think of Grandma Sue” (Roud). She is long past, but the American identity was dear to her heart, so we continue these ways in honour of her. Even though I never met her, I truly love my Grandma, and I know that this is a tradition I will continue on for generations, because without her and her American identity, I would not be here today.

Every July my mom’s cousin comes up to Canada for a week with his family. This is the only time we get to see them, so it becomes a big party where we combine our cultures. They always bring mini American flags, party hats, and fireworks for the fourth, and we celebrate the American day as they would down South. In an attempt to share our Canadian culture with them, we break out all of the fun things we have here. We take them to Niagara Falls, and buy, as my aunt calls them “the best part of Canada,” all-dressed chips (Wilson).  In this week, I am very proud of my culture, it is a happy blend of both countries and all the great parts each part of my history has to offer.

Lastly, at all of our houses we have always flown two flags: Canadian and American. We do get a little criticism for this, as people believe that it is not truly Canadian to hang the flag of another country. However, we do not replace the Canadian one with the American, we just show our ties to each nation and the love we have for both. I would never choose the United States over Canada because “we are almost entirely Canadian, [I am] Canadian, but we cannot forget that a little piece of [me] is also Canadian” (Roud).

I have utmost respect for my Grandma Sue and the risks she had to take in order for our family to be what it is today, so I will never forget the place she came from, the traditions she brought us, or the piece of America that she gave me.

Works Cited

Dyck, Darryl. US and Canadian Flags Flying. CBC, www.cbc.ca/radio/the180/least-important-election-the-case-to-stop-changing-the-clocks-and-the-problem-of-dna-as-proof-of-culture-1.3834912/actually-america-moving-to-canada-is-a-lot-more-complicated-than-you-think-1.3835158. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

Klein, Allison. How Thanksgiving Works. Howstuffworks, people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/thanksgiving.htm. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

Roud, Amanda. Interview. 4 Dec. 2017.

Roud, Steven. Interview. 24 Nov. 2017.

Unknown. American Canadian Flag Combination. Amazon, www.amazon.ca/Canada-Friendship-COMBINATION-America-Canadian/dp/B00GFEC6KC. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

---. American Canadian Puzzle Pieces. JW Jeffery, www.jwjeffery.com/?p=662. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

---. Ruffles All Dressed Chips. Amazon, www.amazon.com/Ruffles-Dressed-Potato-Chips-7-75/dp/B018PQYSXK. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

Wilson, Heather. Interview. 4 July 2017.

The Day of the Dead to the Day of Dessert

Growing up in North America, October has always meant Halloween. As the month went on, excitement grew until kids were bouncing off the walls. The children would pick their favourite character, and the parents would pick the cutest outfits for their little ones. But among all the planning of costumes, only one thing was going through everybody’s minds: candy! Halloween was the one day a year that kids were allowed to eat as much as their little hearts desired, and that was the norm.

I can’t remember a time before I knew of the magic of trick or treating. I know what my first costume was: a kitten. But, I only know this from seeing pictures. As a kid, I never thought about why I was out partaking in an activity that could be so creepy and dangerous. Now, with age, I can’t help but wonder: why has dressing up in silly costumes and asking random strangers for candy become a common childhood ritual?

“Halloween’s just a part of our customs. It is something that is part of our history that has been morphed into the over commercialized tradition it is today” said my mom when I approached her with the topic. “Yes,” she agreed when I asked if she believed it was safe to send kids door to door on this night, “because kids need a sense of community and the adults love to have them come. But, it is only appropriate on this festive night, and they should only ever visit people they are familiar with. Also, young children should never go unsupervised” (A. Roud).

The tradition originates from Samhain, an old Celtic festival. Two millenniums ago, in a ritual to scare away ghosts, villagers would gather together in costumes and light massive bonfires on this night. All Saint’s Day, November 1, was the day that the living would celebrate the dead; the night before became All Hallow’s Eve, the night the dead would rise. Since then, late October has become the scary day it is.

When the new immigrants came across to North America in the 1800s, they brought their cultural practices with them, spreading the fear surrounding this day. The idea of scaring off the spirits transformed into giving them gifts and treats in return for being kept safe. As the New World embraced All Hallows Eve they began to realize that there was no true harm from the night, but the tradition of the night lived on.

Although Halloween has changed drastically from the small ritual it was over 2000 years ago, it is a part of nearly every modern childhood, and one I am very glad is a part of my culture. Now, instead of asking for treats to give ghosts, we now ask for treats for ourselves; instead of dressing up to scare them off, we dress up for fun; and instead of using the night to protect our families, we send our children out to do the one thing we never advise them to: take candy from a stranger.

Works Cited

Boston University. 31 Oct. 2013, www.bu.edu/today/2013/how-did-halloween-get-started/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.

History.com. 209, www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween. Accessed 27 Oct. 2017.

Roud, Amanda. Interview. 26 Oct. 2017.