Morning Brief: When To Throw Out A Christmas Tree

Buenos dias — Andrew from Narcity here, happy to be back after a long holiday weekend. ☕

Off The Top: No, it’s not a disgusting new hot-wing-flavoured dessert from Dairy Queen; A major Buffalo blizzard engulfed the border town over the holidays and the pictures and clips look like something out of a disaster movie. Next time you’re thinking of complaining about not having a White Christmas, just know that there are people around the world who have it far worse than you — like Western New Yorkers.

In Case You Missed It

1. POV: Why You Shouldn’t Wait Until 2023 To Chuck Your Christmas Tree

It could be, perhaps, that her shoes are too tight but resident Narcity Grinch Brooke Houghton has built a pretty strong case for why this is the week to put your Christmas tree out on the curb for pickup. The crux of the argument is pretty straight forward: the longer you wait to remove your tree, the messier everything will become. However, there are a few other reasons to consider capping your Christmas festivities by December 31 each year. Here are four other reasons for cutting Christmas tree season short.

2. Do You Like Canadian Food? No One Else In The World Does, Apparently

To the extent that Canada has a singular, distinct food culture, it appears the rest of the world isn’t exactly pining for our local delicacies — like maple syrup, Yukon Gold potatoes, Montreal-style bagels and poutine. In a ranking of the world’s best cuisines based on ingredients, dishes and beverages, Canada placed 92nd out of 95, MTL Blog’s Mike Chaar writes.

• Go Deeper: The only national cuisines that Canada beat out? Latvian, Moroccan and Norwegian.
• What Else? The top five on the list were Italian (No. 1), Greek (2), Spanish (3), Japanese (4) and Indian (5).
• My take: American cuisine placing eighth on the list is all you really need to know about its methodology.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

3. Some Of Canada’s Top Universities Are Offering Free Online Courses

Now that the end-of-year holiday season is quickly coming to an end, you can start to feel our collective thoughts shifting towards New Year Resolution mode; how do you plan on hitting the ground running for a great 2023? Expanding your mind through education is a smart starting point. As Lisa Belmonte points out, there are a number of Canadian universities offering free online courses for the upcoming winter semester. Whether you’re looking to boost your skills or learn something completely new, there’s something for everyone.

• Like What? How about “Communications Strategies for a Virtual Age” at the University of Toronto? Or “Video Game Writing Essentials” at UBC?
• My take: Never underestimate a lifelong learner.
• READ THE FULL STORY HERE

What Else You Need To Know Today

🎁 REGIFT GUIDE
Now that the dust has more or less settled on the holiday season, what do you do with all those boxes of liquor-filled chocolates you’ve amassed over the past month? MTL Blog’s Willa Holt spoke with an etiquette expert to figure out the politest way to regift an unwanted present — and how to graciously receive a gift you just know wasn’t originally meant for you in the first place.

⛸️ SKATE EXPECTATIONS
Who knew that a modern spinoff of The Addams Family would spawn one of 2022’s biggest viral hits? A figure skater recently brought the house down with a routine based on the jerky, macabre dance moves popularized on Netflix’swednesday series, Josh Elliott reports.

🚽 TOILET TROUBLE
It’s truly the stuff of nightmares: while visiting her boyfriend’s parents’ home for the first time over the holidays, a young woman clogged, then literally shattered part of the family’s toilet. (Hey, maybe go a little easier on the crab rangoon next time, ma’am.) Asymina Kantorowicz walks us through the surprisingly heart-warming fallout from the cringe-inducing episode.

🍝PASTA MASTERS
Vancouver is home to some great Italian food. Ashley Harris lists seven fantastic restaurants in the West Coast metropolis that will have you double-checking to make sure you’re not in Europe (presumably before you see the several feet of snow and ice piled up on the sidewalk outside).

🎂 BIRTHDAYS
Puckish heartthrob Timothée Chalamet turns 27 and House of the Dragon Monarch Olivia Cooke turns 29 years old today. Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic is 32. Three-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Sharp is 41. Hall of Fame-worthy fullback Lorenzo Neal is 52. Pro wrestler Chyna would’ve turned 53 today; her former WWE contemporary Goldberg is 56. College hoops coaching greats Bill Self of Kansas and Mark Few of Gonzaga are both 60. The late, great Marlene Dietrich was born on this day in 1901.

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Thank you for reading Narcity’sCanada Morning Brief — the newsletter that doesn’t take down the Festivus pole until Valentine’s Day at the earliest.

Have a question or comment about today’s edition? Let me know at andrew.potter@narcity.com or hit me up on Twitter if you’d prefer at @andrewjoepotter.

Have a great day and I will see you back here tomorrow!