When the snow came down in Shanghai just after Christmas, the students in my school went out to play. For many of them it was a day of firsts: the first snow they had seen, the first opportunity for snowball fights and the first chance at trying to build a snowman. But it was a modest (不太大的) snowfall and a couple of days later it was all just a happy memory. In Canada, where I come from, when the snow arrives, it stays. In parts of Canada you can expect the first snowfall in November and there is a good chance that snow will still be on the ground in March.
With such a long winter, Canadians have found ways to enjoy the cold and the snow and, at this time of year when China is preparing for Spring Festival, Canadian cities are preparing for their winter carnivals (狂欢节). Most cities have them but the biggest and the most famous is the Quebec Winter Carnival which, this year, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. From January 28 to February 13 the people of Quebec City and tens of thousands of tourists from across Canada and the United States will experience the joys of winter by taking part in sleigh (雪橇) rides, ice fishing contests and snow sculpting (雕刻) competitions.
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