In my opinion, almost every country has an item that people use to describe its landscape. For example, if I say ‘palm tree’ almost immediately you might think about a tropical island like Jamaica, or Barbados or even another country along the Equator. To think that palm trees grow in — let’s say, Iceland — might be a tad unusual.
The point? We love using objects to describe entire landscapes even though they often leave inhabitants a bit perplexed. In fact, one of the reasons why so many objects become national symbols is because the chosen objects were often well recognized by its citizens.
In Canada, the weather is a topic that tends to be on everyone’s water cooler conversation list. Side note: I could not find the reference to this comic, but as soon as I find it, I will add it!
On that note, here is my list of top ten objects or things that unofficial define the Canadian landscape:
Snow
Long Winters (Game of Thrones has nothing on the phrase Winter is Coming)
October 23: First snow fall of the year.
December 21: The Official First Day of Winter in Canada.
Maple Syrup
Polar Bears (although, according to World Atlas, 15,500 of the world’s 25,000 polar bears live in Canada…)
Moose
Canada Geese
Hockey
Big Cities (pick your favourite)
Beavers
I am sure that I can go on and on but let me ask you. Can you think of other objects or things that describes the Canadian landscape?