Customs That Canada Needs

By: Irasema Tirado

I am a woman from Mexico and I love my customs. I moved to Canada a long time ago and I think it needs some customs from Mexico because Mexico has so many interesting and fun customs. I think those customs should be in the whole world. These are the three customs that I found most interesting: kiss on the cheek, day of the dead, and carnival.

The kiss on the cheek is one of the most beautiful customs that we can have. We use the kiss on the cheek to say hello and good bye. Most of the time people who do that are especially younger than 35 years old. This custom is in many countries already but so many people in Canada don’t have it and I think could be really interesting if we all try it.

The day of the dead is on November 2nd. It is a celebration for all the people that had died. All the families go to cemeteries and bring to dead familiars flowers, food and the favorite things that they used to like. The people pray for the family members who have died. Most of the people stay at the cemetery all day and all night. They bring their own food and music and stay there having a big party.

Carnival is a festive season which occurs right before Lent. This event comes from Roma. The best celebration is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but there are in other cities like Mazatlan, Mexico or Veracruz, Mexico. This event is usually during February or the beginning of March. The length of the event is about 7 days. Carnival involves a public celebration or parade with some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. We select a Queen for that day and we call her “the Queen of the Carnival.”

These are personally my favorite customs and I would like everybody to try them. I guess I have to start this with my closest friends. I would like these customs everywhere in Canada. But do Canadians want these customs? We don’t know but if we try maybe in some years it will be normal for Canadians.