Vanessa Trivelli (pictured on the left in the photo below) is the human resources generalist at Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada Inc. (MESCA) in Markham, Ontario.

Canada is among the most Christmassy countries in the world.

Canada has a lot of places whose names are reminiscent of Christmas—Christmas Island and Noel in Nova Scotia, Sled Lake in Saskatchewan and Reindeer Station in the Northwest Territories, just to name a few.

And Canada is one of the 10 countries with the highest chance of having a white Christmas in the world. The probability of Canada being white on Christmas Day is about 43.6%, according to a 2017 report.

“Like people in many other countries, we celebrate Christmas on 25 December. Christmas is a national holiday in Canada, and most businesses are closed”, Vanessa explained. “We usually celebrate Christmas by decorating a Christmas tree, exchanging gifts and preparing a special family meal. That’s our tradition”.

“Each year before the holiday, around the second week of December, MESCA holds a Christmas party for employees from all of its locations across Canada and their spouses. About 80–100 people attend the party”, she said. “This annual event contributes in a big way to enhancing social interaction by bringing us all together”.

In 2018, MESCA’s Christmas party took place in a ballroom at the Toronto Marriott Markham. One of the highlights of the night was live music performed by The Marc Joseph Band.

“The Marc Joseph Band is a 5-piece cover band based in Toronto. They play music from many different genres in their own high-energy style”, Vanessa said. “At the party, the band played us songs like ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams, ‘Celebration’ by Kool & The Gang and ‘Get Down Tonight’ by KC and The Sunshine Band. They were very entertaining. As soon as they started playing, we all rushed to the dance floor!”

On the day of the event, Markham had some snow on the ground. Along with the joyous music and the festive food and drinks on the tables, this snow helped Vanessa (her favourite Christmas song is “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”) and others get into the Christmas vibe.

“After a long, busy year, we all come together to have a great time and get into the holiday spirit—I really enjoy the event every year”, Vanessa said.

The MESCA head office in Markham, Ontario (left) and the CN Tower (right).

“The CN Tower is a concrete tower standing 1,815 feet (553 metres) tall in downtown Toronto. Visitors can take an elevator to the top of the tower in order to get amazing views of the city through floor-to-ceiling panoramic window walls, glass floors and an outdoor sky terrace”, Vanessa explained. “The CN Tower is one of Canada’s most famous landmarks. It’s a must-visit!”

The CN tower is located within a 30-minute drive of the MESCA head office.

---

For more information

• Locations