Elora Festival
75A Melville Street N0B 1S0 Elora, ON, Canada

We're continuing our series on unique Christmas traditions this week with the Yule goat! A tradition in Nordic countries, the Yule goat is made of straw and is believed to help guard the Christmas tree. In the Swedish city of Gävle, the community has come together to build a 43-foot tall straw goat at the start of advent every year since 1966. Unfortunately, pranksters burning the goat down has also become a tradition: In 50+ years, the Gävle goat has only lasted through th...e New Year a dozen times. Julebukking is a Scandinavian Christmas tradition. Between Christmas and New Years Day, groups of costumed people walk through their neighborhood, knocking on doors and entertaining people with songs in exchange for treats. These groups may bring a goat along or have someone impersonate a goat’s unruly behavior. If two costumed goats meet, they’ll often engage in a play fight to entertain the crowd.

We're continuing our series on unique Christmas traditions this week with the Yule goat! A tradition in Nordic countries, the Yule goat is made of straw and is believed to help guard the Christmas tree. In the Swedish city of Gävle, the community has come together to build a 43-foot tall straw goat at the start of advent every year since 1966. Unfortunately, pranksters burning the goat down has also become a tradition: In 50+ years, the Gävle goat has only lasted through the... New Year a dozen times. Julebukking is a Scandinavian Christmas tradition. Between Christmas and New Years Day, groups of costumed people walk through their neighborhood, knocking on doors and entertaining people with songs in exchange for treats. These groups will bring a goat along or have someone impersonate a goat’s unruly behavior. If two costumed goats meet, they’ll often engage in a play fight to entertain the crowd.

Join us on Saturday evenings in December for "A Nativity Festival"!

Congratulations to Laura Adlers, our Executive Director, on this truly well deserved recognition: being named an Officer of the Cross of Recognition by the Republic of Latvia.

Let's get festive! As The Elora Singers get ready for our Nativity Festival concerts, we thought it would be fun to explore some Christmas/holiday traditions from around the world. While carving pumpkins is a well-known Halloween tradition, in Oaxaca, Mexico, the vegetable carving comes at Christmastime. Noche de Los Rábanos, or Night of the Radishes, is a tradition stretching back more than a century. Each year on December 23rd, competitors display intricately carved radish...es at the Christmas market. The radishes used are grown to be larger than normal (some as heavy as 3kg and as long as 50cm!) and are not meant to be eaten. Most entries are scenes that use multiple radishes, with the most popular being nativity scenes, but other traditional themes depict the people, animals, and foods of the region. The event is very popular, attracting thousands of visitors who wait in long lines to see the entries. Why not start a new holiday tradition in your home this year! Join The Elora Singers for our Nativity Festival Concerts on December 5, 12 & 19. Find more information, and purchase your tickets here: https://www.elorasingers.ca/2020-concert-season/ Photo By AlejandroLinaresGarcia