A Canadian Holiday to Celebrate a Queen
© Cher Gruener
The country of Canada has always loved England. Even before Confederation, Canada chose to name a holiday after the Queen.
On the weekend preceeding May 25th. we celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday here in Canada and thankfully, that means a long weekend for us! But who was she and what did she have to do with Canada and why do celebrate it?
Queen Victoria was born in 1819 and ascended the throne in 1837 following the death of her uncle, George IV. Since she was the reigning monarch of Canada (remember, Canada didn't become a nation until 1867) and since the dwellers of the then land of Canada were loyal to their queen and country, they voted and declared that her birthday, May 24 would be a national holiday. This was made into a holiday by the province of Canada's (Canada west) legislature in 1845.
Following confederation, the queen's birthday was celebrated on the 24th, unless it appeared on a Sunday, then it was celebrated on the 25th of May. Before the turn of the century, the holiday was known as "Empire Day" as Queen Victoria approached her Diamond Jubilee. Shortly following her death in 1901, her birthday was declared a national and legal holiday by the legislature of Canada.
As the years continued on, the observation of Victoria Day as it was offically called after becoming a national holiday continued. An amendment to the Statutes of the land provided the celebration of the Queen's birthday on Victoria Day. During the 1950's Empire Day was changed to Commonwealth Day and in 1977, Commonwealth Day was moved to March. Queen Victoria's birthday continued to be celebrated on the 24th day of May.
Though Quebec also has a statutory holiday that weekend, it does not celebrate the Queen or England at all. The day, Journee Nationale des Patriotes (National Patriots Day) commemorates the French Canadian as well as the English Canadian heroes of the Lower Canadian Rebellion in 1837. But Canada is not the only country that celebrates this holiday, there are parts of Scotland that do also.
No matter who happens to be the Monarch of the day, their birthdays get celebrated on May the 24th (or the 3rd Monday of May) and here in Canada its the first official long weekend of summer.
