Contrast Essay: Christmas and Easter

Holidays are always challenging. The amount of money people spend and the

time put into celebrating the events usually leave people physically tired and financially

exhausted. Despite the issues that adults have with the process, families continue to put

out the effort because these holidays are special. Christmas and Easter are the biggest

holidays in Canada, but they are not the same at all. Christmas and Easter have many

differences in decoration, preparation, and food.

First, decoration is different. In Canada, families usually decorate their homes a

lot. For example, some people may buy an evergreen tree from a Christmas tree farm

and bring it home to decorate with store-bought or homemade garland. On the other

hand, homeowners hardly decorate at Eastertime except for spring flowers such as lilies

or crocuses. Decorating for the holidays is a traditional habit that is very common at

Christmas, but not at Easter.

Another difference between Christmas and Easter is preparation. Before

Christmas comes, Canadians happily overindulge; they do a lot of shopping and eating

with their families and friends. In some parts of the country, Christmas sales and parties

begin as early as November 1st! In contrast, people who are religious may be very

solemn in the days and weeks leading up to Easter; for example, some people

participate in Lent, which is a time when some Christians give up something they enjoy

in order to appreciate the sacrifice made at the Crucifixion. To conclude, it is clear that

preparing for Christmas and Easter are very different.

 The last difference between the two holidays is what people eat. Canadian

people traditionally eat a dinner with special food items such as turkey and stuffing. On

the other hand, sweets like chocolate covered Easter eggs are popular at Eastertime. In

short, the two special days are celebrated with different types of food.

All in all, there are many differences between how people decorate their homes,

how they prepare for the festivities and what they eat at Christmas and Eastertime in

Canada. Even though people use quite different ways to celebrate their two biggest

holidays, they have a good time because these traditional holidays always seem to

bring people together in unique ways. For this reason, it is important to learn and

continue these traditions so that future generations can enjoy them for years to come.