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Spotlight on 8 North American Social Events and Traditions

The Ottawa River, Spring 2011
The Ottawa River, Spring 2011

I’m not losing my French, it’s just that language is highly cultural. This is my excuse—a valid one, mind you—for not always being able to explain many North America traditions in French.

How can you translate something that doesn’t actually exist in your home country? Most French are familiar with Halloween or Thanksgiving (thank you, Hollywood!) but “Boxing Day” or “Tailgates parties” aren’t that famous outside North America.

During my first few years in Canada, I discovered and attended social events and traditions I didn’t even know existed.

Baby Showers

In North America, baby showers are a popular way for young parents to celebrate a pending or recent birth and to get baby-related gifts, such as toys, clothes or basic supplies.

Baby showers are typically a surprise for the mother-to-be and are often hosted by friends or even coworkers. Some women choose to wait until the baby is born to celebrate while others don’t mind throwing an early party. The father-to-be is supposed to be aware of such preferences and give the go-ahead for the baby shower—but he may not be invited, some parties are women only!

Boxing Day

This public holiday in most of the Commonwealth is celebrated right after Christmas. It’s a day off… unless you’re a retail employee, because it’s a “shopping holiday.”

Stores typically offer huge sales and lineups can start forming in the middle of the night to snatch doorbuster deals. The most popular items on sale are invariably retail electronics.

Casual Friday  

Along with the popular initialism “TGIF” (for “Thank God it’s Friday”), casual Friday is a common way to celebrate the upcoming weekend. Many workplaces give their employees a break from a more formal dress code and encourage them to “dress down.”

That said, the level of casualness really depends on the workplace—in some, jeans and hoodies are acceptable, while others expect “business casual” attire. Check how your coworkers dress before showing up wearing ripped jeans!

Halloween

This spooky holiday celebrated on October 31 is now famous worldwide. It’s huge in the United States and Canada where it’s taken very, very seriously.

Jack-o’-lanterns are carved and displayed behind windows or on porches for weeks before the event, and giant boxes of treats (candy bars, chips, etc.) are bought to be handed out on Halloween Night. Kids get to go trick-or-treating while teens and adults usually attend Halloween parties.

Potlucks

A potluck is a communal meal where guests bring dishes to share. It’s often the preferred setup for informal school or work gatherings because it makes meal planning easy and food costs are shared among participants.

Popular dishes include cold salads (with couscous, pasta, quinoa…), chili, mini sandwiches, cookies, cupcakes or loaf cakes.

Prom Night

High school graduation parties (“prom”) are a big deal in North America. Students typically dress formally and attend a school dance or dinner party with their “prom date.”

Watch for prom dresses showing up in stores around May and teens shopping around for their special night. Similar traditions exist around the world but not in France—we didn’t have formal high school or university graduation parties.  

Tailgate Parties

This social event is held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle, usually in stadium or arena parking lots before a game or a concert. The point is to party—i.e. get drunk—before the event starts and share cheap food instead of paying $10 for a hotdog once inside the venue.

Tailgating is mostly a U.S. tradition, but Canadian fans have been known to brave the cold to party before NHL or CFL games.

Thanksgiving

This statutory holiday celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada is the time to give thanks at the end of the harvest season.

Canadians usually enjoy a traditional family meal during the three-day long weekend—roasted turkey with stuffing, oven-baked yams (sweet potatoes) and pie is the typical menu.

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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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