Living in Canada? Take your shoes off.
When we first moved to Canada, one of the things that surprised me was that very few people wear their shoes in the house. Go into someone’s home, and you leave your shoes by the door.
I’ve tried to find the origin of this custom, but no one seems to know for sure how it started. One factor is undoubtedly the weather — when it’s wet, muddy, or snowy outside, you don’t want to be tracking all that muck into your house.
Some people suggest that Canada’s large Asian population may also have influenced this custom. In many Asian countries, it’s considered good manners to take off your shoes before entering someone’s home.
One unexpected side effect of the “shoes off” policy is that you need to find a place to put your shoes. If you don’t want to be tripping over a big pile of shoes by your front door, consider getting a shoe rack, like one of these from IKEA or Canadian Tire.
And if you want to read more about the Canadian shoes-off custom, check out these sites:
Photo by Daveybot (flickr)
