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The annual start-of-summer
Bank Holiday in Canada -- called a long weekend on the other side
of the Atlantic Ocean -- is called Victoria Day.
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| Three Canadians
who are eager to celebrate ... |
It's the holiday
that means the end of winter and the beginning of that short period
of time in Canada called summer.
Most people
spend Victoria Day doing very Canadian things like:
- planting
the vegetable garden, mostly with peas, beans and potatoes as
nothing much else will grow there
- cleaning
off the barbecue and cooking large cuts of T-bone steak and large
quantities of hamburger and hot dogs, which must be slathered
with loads of mustard, relish and ketchup
- polishing
and waxing the car, and then going for a ride in the countryside
- opening up
the lakeside cabin or cottage, sweeping away the dead mice and
breaking the ice on the lake
- feeling proud
they are Canadian and can celebrate the birthday of any Queen
they like. In Quebec, they might be more likely to celebrate on
St Jean Baptiste Day, which is on June 24th. He's the patron saint
of Quebec.
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| Getting
out to the countryside is a popular Victoria Day pursuit |
The odd thing
is no other country seems to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria,
who died in 1901. But Canada has celebrated the sovereign's birthday
on May 24th or the closest Monday to that date since the reign of
Victoria.
It is now celebrated
on the Monday preceding May 25th every year.
But if you are
Canadian, as I am, how do you celebrate Victoria Day? If you are
a British person living in Canada, how do you celebrate?
Let
us know so we can have a debate. Is Victoria Day an anachronism
or a great idea? What should we do to mark Victoria Day or should
it be renamed as something else.
We're
waiting for your ideas.
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