The above exchange among the Canadians is a bit surprising to me; I definitely saw this growing up in Toronto. But I guess it makes sense, since certain immigrant groups actually go to mass more than nonimmigrant Francophones.
Which immigrants? Toronto has a sizable Hispanic community, which doesn't exist elsewhere in the country (I suppose Montreal has some). It can't be common among Italians, since they're everywhere. Certainly not among French Canadians.
I don't think this is really an ethnic thing; I'm not a Catholic, but as I understand it, if you go to Catholic mass on Ash Wednesday, you will get it. Partially it's just an issue of numbers - obviously the median Italian-Canadian our age whose grandparents came from Italy doesn't go to mass regularly.
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