Another country #6

Saturday morning and the snow is falling. It looks a little like shredded feathers. We are obviously still in this other country so here are a few more spot the differences.

Christmas
Christmas AKA "the Holiday Season" is very similar in many ways. Christmas trees, turkeys, hanging up stocking - all the important bits. But it really is about celebrating a holiday which every one can celebrate rather than an exclusively Christian thing. The cards all say Happy Holidays and we went to the school seasonal production and Chris' work holiday party.
Other differences include children not sending each other Christmas cards - hurrah, what a great waste of paper and money that was - and candy canes. The shops were full of these mint flavoured sweeties (sorry candy). Our crew didn't like them unless they were of the rarer, fruit flavoured persuasion. Also, there were lots of gingerbread houses to be built and decorated. Maddie made one at pre-school and it was scoffed in seconds. The other big thing I noticed were nut-cracker figures. They are very popular. In one house we were visiting they had a little army of them, some two foot high, looking like a bunch of angry mutant indoor gnomes. Not my cup of tea. Outdoor decs are very popular too - some still up now, well past 12th night (is that a UK only thing?). I have discovered a surprising liking for lit up reindeer.
Lastly we noticed some differences in the catering department. No Marks and Spensers bread sauce for us although Mum's was very good. The biggest challenge proved to be in buying proper cream for the trifle. This is one of my favourite Christmas indulgences but the whipping cream I used for double cream just didn't have that rich really bad for you taste I was yearning for. Also, I couldn't find ready made custard except a tin of the Devon stuff which although yummy is not quite the luxury stuff I wanted. Boo.

Crossing the road
I am having secret longings for good old green and red men. We have white dotty men at the crossings and there aren't so many of them about. Lots of the crossings are a 4-way stops and the car drivers seem to be very considerate of pedestrians. Instead of lollipop ladies we have two male crossing guards (there was a rather scary female one called Susan but she seems to have been transferred elsewhere for the minute). They stop traffic at the crossings for children and adults and are unbelievably jolly considering they have to stand about in sub-zero temperatures twice a day. Perhaps its the ear muffs that keep them so happy.

Nuts
When the children started school I had to sign a form promising not to send them in with food containing any nuts because some of the pupils have severe allergies. When Dominic had one of his friends round his mum gave me a special pen so I could inject him if he had an allergic reation while he was here. Before he came I put the bag of peanuts we had way up on a top shelf out of harms way. Eek - I wonder if it is still there. Anyway I have a theory about this. It seems to me that the number of nut allergies cannot be unrelated to the number of hideous nut products there are available. Peanut butter eating is clearly rife and there is a whole range of disgusting chocolate/peanut products called "Reeces" that make Marathons look like small fry. Clearly over indulgence in nuts by generations of Canadians has produced a reaction in their children. Or so it seems to me.

Snow
It is still snowing. Snow is the same everywhere. Except here it doesn't melt. White is the new green.