This is your weekly update from the Canadian Culture page at BellaOnline. My name is Melanie Hachey and I am the new editor. You can learn a little bit more about me here.

Bananas are hugely popular in Canada. Bananas ripen very quickly so they must be eaten within a few days of purchase, or they go brown. Overripe bananas can be used in recipes, or peeled, sliced and stored in the freezer to be used later in baking or smoothies. This week's article offers some delicious recipes you can use when you find yourself with overripe bananas.

Visit the Canadian Culture Forum to share your feelings about the demise of the Hockey Night in Canada theme song; or your favourite banana-related recipes. Any comments, questions, or thoughts you have about Canada, its people, and its culture are always welcome at the forum, so drop by for a chat anytime.

This Week's Canadian Fun Fact

Did you know that the Hockey Night in Canada theme song, which has been opening the show for 40 years, will not be used by the CBC any longer? The negotiations between the broadcasting corporation and the song's composer broke down and the licencing agreement was not renewed. The CBC is now launching a song writing competition for Canadian composers to come up with a new theme for the show. According to Fox Business, "CBC will offer $100,000 for the winning song, which will then become the new 'official theme song' of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada and will be heard in every broadcast."

What's Up Canuck? Your Weekly Canadian Trivia Question

Last Week's Question & Answer:

What are the top five languages spoken in Canada, based on number of people who speak them?

According to the Statistics Canada table Population by Mother Tongue (2006 census), the top 5 languages spoken in Canada are:

1. English, spoken by 17,882,775 people.
2. French, spoken by 6,817,655 people.
3. Chinese, spoken by 1,012,065 people (Chinese is further broken down into Cantonese (361,450), Mandarin (170,950), Hakka (4,415), and "Chinese, n.o.s." (456,705)).
4. Italian, spoken by 455,040 people.
5. German, spoken by 450,570 people.

Do you have a question about Canada? Send it to me in reply to this email and I might use it as a What's Up Canuck trivia question.

This Week's Question

Why is the Maple Leaf a symbol of Canada?

Look for your answer next week.

Do you have feedback or questions for me? I'd love to hear from you. You can either start a topic in the forum or simply respond to this email.

I look forward to exploring Canadian Culture with you.