New Brunswick Traveler

New Brunswick Traveler

By Mark J Brewer, HostSociety & CulturePlaces & Travel
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New Brunswick Traveler episodes

  • Boxing Day in New Brunswick

    I moved to Canada 21 years ago, and my wife and her family always celebrated their Christmas on Boxing Day, December 26. That would be when the gifts would be exchanged and when the family would get together.

    I always found it very intriguing that there was a Boxing Day celebration here in Canada, because it wasn't something that I had ever experienced in the United States. 

    According to information I have found, it wasn't until 1871 that Boxing Day did become an official holiday in the United

    Kingdom. So it makes sense that it wouldn't have been a tradition that would have been in the United States back before the Revolutionary War in 1776.

    In Ontario, Boxing Day was much like Black Friday in the United States in that it was a major shopping day there in all of the shopping malls across the province.

    Ten years ago, when we moved to New Brunswick, I was

    somewhat shocked to find that here in New Brunswick, Boxing Day is a provincial holiday, and therefore, everything is closed on Boxing Day. A few pharmacies are open along with convenience stores, but that's about it. I'm still somewhat intrigued with regard to why, not only in New Brunswick, but in many of the Maritime provinces, everything is closed and it's a provincial holiday.

    I have a sneaking suspicion that there may have been some

    major department store back in the day that decided that they would get government to close everything because they wanted their employees to have an extra day of vacation.

    So, it's not a day to strap on the gloves. And get in the ring, but rather it's a day to get together, share gifts, and in many of the provinces in Canada to have a major shopping time.

    So, to look at the history of Boxing Day, it may go all the

    way back to Good King Wenceslas. The traditional Christmas Carol, Good King Wenceslas tells the story of one of the possible origins of Boxing Day. The events of this carol takes place on December 26th, which also happens to be the Feast of St. Stephen. In the song, a 10th century Duke of Bohemia sees a poor man and he decides to help this man. The Duke enlists the help of his page and gathering food, wine, and firewood, boxing it all up so that they can take it to the peasant. Then Wunchalus and his page brave a blizzard to deliver the boxes of goods.

    Legend holds that Wunchalus actions started a tradition in

    which church goers would donate money during the advent. Then on the day after Christmas, the boxes of money would be broken open and distributed among the poor. After decades of carrying this out, December 26th became known as Boxing Day.

    A second tradition is that it originates from the practice of the aristocracy giving their employees bonuses and presents on the day after Christmas. As the stories go, employees would take their boxes home and open them up with their families, hence Boxing Day. We may not know precisely how this holiday came to be, but we do know one thing.

    The first recorded mention of Boxing Day comes from an 1830s version of the Oxford English Dictionary. The definition given is the first weekday after Christmas Day, observed as a holiday on which postmen, errand boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas box.

    In other words, according to this definition, Boxing Day is

    a day to recognize All the service people in your life by leaving them Christmas presents.

    Just because we closed the stores here in New Brunswick on Boxing Day, That doesn't mean that there still aren't a lot of sales, because what we have here is Boxing Week. In terms of significance, the holiday spirit of gift and almsgiving. It's generally faded away from memory. It's become a commercial holiday, and we take advantage of it just as much as they do in the United States on Black Friday.

    Mark J Brewer, Host


    9 min
  • Christmas in New Brunswick: A Conversation with David Goss

    This episode is a conversation with David Goss, a well-known author and storyteller from Saint John.  He gives some information about some of the developing traditions of Christmas in New Brunswick.  Following are some of the things that David said:

    I think a lot of Christmas celebrations in New Brunswick are

    homogenized. They are pretty much the same for everybody in every area of the province.  Although when I did my first book on Christmas, the Acadian Christmas was quite different. Their Christmas was more based on the baby Jesus and the Nativity story than the Anglophone
    Christmas was.  They told me they didn't celebrate Christmas, but what they meant is they didn't celebrate Christmas the way the Anglophone population did, which was mostly based on Santa Claus, after about 1880.

    But before that, the first Christmas that I was able to get

    records of was Lady Hunter in Fredericton in 1804 to 1808. She was here with her husband, Sir Martin Hunter, and they came from England. He was the Governor General of the province, representing England. And they were with the military in Fredericton, and she wrote letters back to England, several letters over the years, 1804 four to 1808.  And in those, she just described the Christmas that they were enjoying in New Brunswick.  By that time, English Christmases were quite well established, but among the New Brunswickers, there was probably very people were just getting by, living very frugal existences.

    But Sir Martin Hunter had the wherewithal to have lavish

    parties and balls, and have the military involved in them.  So, they skated on the river, and they had sleigh rides, and they had the barracks all decorated with greenery, which nobody else was doing at the time.

    And Queen Mab.was the gift giver. Santa Claus hadn't come

    on the scene yet.  Although Clement Moore had written the famous “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, it wasn’t until 1821 or 1822 that it was written.  So, they were before the era of Santa Claus, but there was still a gift giver and it was
    Queen Mab.  And there were still stockings hung. So that was a tradition even before Clement Moore's time.  So that was the first time I ran across any great collection of information about Christmas in New Brunswick, and there's
    not much more until about the 1850s. 

    In 1848, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's image appears

    with a Christmas tree in the Illustrated London News, and that's the first appearance of a Christmas tree idea in the United Kingdom.  In the 1850s, 1860s, and 70s, maybe 10
    percent of New Brunswickers had trees. By 1900, 90% had trees in their house. So that tradition grew slowly over a period of 50 years.  As far as public trees go, the first public
    tree in Saint John was not until 1923, and it was in King Square.

    Then the Irving’s began that tradition in 1980 of lighting a

    large Christmas tree during the time that Canada was celebrating its bicentennial.  So, during the
    bicentennial years, which was 1983-85, the tree grew to be a massive 66-foot tree with over 5, 000 lights.  It was
    known as the most beautiful tree in Canada at that time.  And then, the tree blew down one year. Broke in two. And they, they now reduced it down to about a 30-foot tree. But it's still a magnificent sight, for sure.

    David is offering his newest book Cottage and Campfire

    Chillers as a Christmas special.  A signed copy directly from the author for $12.00, or two for $20.00.  Mailed anywhere in Canada for $15.00.  Contact [email protected]
    or call (506) 672-8601.
    Mark J Brewer, Host

    17 min
  • Covered Bridges in New Brunswick

    Here in New Brunswick, we had about 400 covered bridges at one point in time. Today, there are 58 remaining.  These bridges represent more than a simple aid to transportation. They symbolize the growth and prosperity of the province in

    the 20th century. Covered bridges were covered for a very practical reason. The roofs protect the floorboards and their supporting beams from the wetting and drying that open bridges normally endure.

    New Brunswick covered bridges are distinctive from similar

    bridges in other parts of North America for two reasons. The most visible is that the wall boards were left unpainted, resulting then in turning the wood the popular soft gray. They are today. Secondly, the openings are taller than
    most as most bridges were built in rural communities.  Regulations stated that bridges must allow a full wagon load of loose hay to be able to pass under safely.

    With each passing year, New Brunswick's covered bridges are increasingly at risk of irreparable damage or demolition due to a range of natural forces, accidents, vandalism and the lack of maintenance. Recent ice and floodwaters have taken their toll, weakening and immediately threatening

    the future of many bridges.

    But the province is investing in repairing some of the bridges, and even in building the first new one in 70 years.  In this podcast, you will learn about some of the ones that you should visit!

    Businesses/organizations mentioned in the podcast are listed below:

    Hartland, New Brunswick

    Association Heritage New Brunswick

    Provincial List of Covered Bridges

    SJYO Holiday Concert – December 16

    Home for Christmas playing at Fredericton Playhouse –

    December 22

    Mark J Brewer, Host

    15 min
  • Moose in New Brunswick

    Some travelers come to New Brunswick with the hope of seeing a moose. This episode focuses on some background about the health of the moose herd, locations where they can be found, safety tips for avoiding a collision with one of them and details on the hunting season for those individuals that want to not only see one, but to shoot one.

    The following businesses/organizations were mentioned in the episode:

    Java Moose coffee - https://javamoose.com

    Red Bank Lodge - http://redbanklodge.com

    Taxis River Outfitters - https://taxisriveroutfitters.com

    Adair's Outfitters - https://adairsoutfitters.com

    Rockwood Park "German Christmas Market - 142 Lake Drive, Saint John

    Pine Grove Nursing Home "Festival of Lights" - 521 Woodstock Road, Fredericton

    Mark J Brewer, Host

    14 min

About New Brunswick Traveler

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New Brunswick is often referred to as the "drive through" province, but that is changing. Our population continues to grow and more and more, individuals are making this a destination place, having…