Thursday, June 30, 2016

Happy Canada Day


 
Canada Day (French: FĂȘte du Canada) is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day (French: Le Jour de la Confederation) the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada was passed. Canada observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.
Most communities across the country will host organized celebrations for Canada Day, usually outdoor public events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free musical concerts. There is no standard mode of celebration for Canada Day. Canada Day, like the country, is endlessly decentralized. There doesn't seem to be a central recipe for how to celebrate it—chalk it up to the nature of the federation." However, the locus of the celebrations is the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario, where large concerts and cultural displays are held on Parliament Hill, with the governor general and prime minister typically officiating, though the monarch or another member of the Royal Family may also attend or take the governor general's place. Smaller events are mounted in other parks around the city and in Gatineau, Quebec.

Prime Minister Trudeau and the Governor-General are both participating in ceremonies in Ottawa today. No royal family this year.

In my area we have a 3 day holiday. Today there are various performances, indoor and outdoor from local musicians and dancers and activities for the children, with the ever popular face painting.
Tomorrow is the Canada parade and all the local streets are closed off to traffic. And of course, there's fireworks at night to close off the day.

Happy 149th Canada Day everyone!


2 comments:

  1. Since I live near Detroit, we always get to mix Canada Day and Independence Day with the Freedom Fireworks. This huge fireworks display is shown on TV and celebrates the best of both countries!

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  2. I had no idea - sounds very cool.

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