It’s orange season!
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, fall through December marks the start of the orange harvest season for many nations. For many of us, that means enjoying lots of Holiday or Christmas oranges (mandarins, satsumas, or clementines). These varieties are prized for their easy-to-peel skins, juicy sweet segments, and their cute small size. The tradition of oranges during the holidays is especially strong here in Canada, where Japanese mandarin oranges have been a festive staple for nearly 140 years.
For those old enough to remember, in late November – early December, local stores would sell boxes of oranges, wrapped in soft green paper, like little presents waiting to be eaten. As you unwrap those golden orange gifts from their paper, your mom would sort through the rest to find any rotten or crushed ones at the bottom before putting them back in the box. Today, it’s a bit harder to find a box of oranges, but you can get a 5lb bag, which is likely more economical, but less nostalgic for less than $10!
Orange production
The production of these holiday oranges that we enjoy so much is concentrated in regions with mild winters and hot summers, such as Japan, Spain, and the United States. In Japan, the Unshu mikan (a type of mandarin) is harvested from October to December, perfectly timed for the holiday season. Similarly, Spain’s clementines are harvested from November to January, ensuring a fresh supply for Christmas.
While Brazil is the top producer of oranges 16.9 million tons in 2024, in the winter months Canada imports more of the small varieties harvested in the Northern Hemisphere. Canada imports a significant quantity of citrus fruits, including Christmas oranges, each year. In the marketing year of 2022/23, Canada imported approximately 178,000 metric tons of fresh oranges, of which the peak of these imports takes place during the holiday season, aligning with the tradition of enjoying mandarin oranges at Christmas.
A Japanese Symbol Becomes a Canadian Tradition
Dating back at least to1891, the Oppenheimer Group imported small oranges to Vancouver from Japan, which quickly were dispersed locally in markets, as well as loaded onto trains and shipped throughout Canada. Today, Canada imports most of its Christmas oranges from Japan, maintaining a long-standing. According to a Scout article, outside of Japan, True North, Canada, is the largest satsumas market; clearly, we have a strong tie to this delicious tradition.
The reason we have Christmas oranges is because of the large Japanese population in the 1880s and earlier in British Columbia who received oranges for the celebration of the Lunar New Year. Oranges are used in the celebration of the Lunar New Year, as they represent “the continuation of family from one generation to the next”. Mandarins began to flow into the West Coast of Canada in the early winter for the Japanese immigrants and for their celebration, and these delicious, fresh, and easy-to-peel fruits soon found great popularity, and so the settlers adopted these oranges for their holiday celebrations.
Saint Nicholas’ Golden Orange
As settlers of Canada adopted the Japanese Lunar New Year, it also has roots in the European culture of Saint Nicholas. According to the story, Saint Nicholas, also known as Nicholas of Myra, learned of a poor man who could not afford dowries for his three daughters (dowries are funds or goods needed to be given to a husband’s family for accepting the marriage of a woman). This meant that the poor man’s daughters were unlikely to marry. To help, Nicholas secretly tossed three bags of gold through the man’s window at night. The gold landed in the daughters’ stockings, which were hung by the fire to dry. Over time, this story evolved, and the gold bags became symbolized by oranges, representing the generosity and secret gift-giving of Saint Nicholas.
Over time the story of Saint Nicholas’ generosity spread and the patron saint of children was then honoured with Saint Day, which was celebrated in early December (6th in West and 19th in Eastern Christian countries). Children would put out their shoes outside their door and over time hang their stockings near the fire, in hopes that they would be left a gift. The practice was popularized in 1823 with the publication of the poem “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” which mentions Santa Claus (aka good olde St. Nic from the North Pole) filling stockings with gifts. Today, placing an orange in stockings serves as a reminder of Saint Nicholas’ kindness and the spirit of giving during the holiday season.
An Orange Tradition
The tradition of Christmas oranges is a beautiful blend of cultural practices from around the world. From the Japanese Lunar New Year to the European legend of Saint Nicholas, and the pure love of Canadian settlers for these sweet, juicy fruits; together the orange at this time of year symbolizes generosity, celebration, and the joy of the holiday season. Whether wrapped in green paper or bought in a 5lb bag, Christmas oranges continue to bring a touch of nostalgia and delight to holiday festivities in Canada and beyond.
