Belated Happy Victoria Day!

I know, I’m late celebrating our Canadian Victoria Day. Blame it on last brain from the Covid 19.

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday. It’s celebrated on the last Monday before May 25^th, in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday. It’s always one week before the American Memorial Day. The holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on the sovereign’s actual birthday. It continuous to be celebrated in various fashions across the country on the fixed date. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, parliament made her birthday an annual holiday.

The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning monarch celebrates their birthday. It is Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday, although her actual birthday is April 21^st. The weekend is sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of summer season in Canada.

The holiday has always been a distinctly Canadian observance and is celebrated as the first big camping weekend, opening up of summer cottages, summer festivals in parks and almost always big fire works displays. All this before the corona virus pandemic. 

This year, because of the corona virus, everything was cancelled. Camping at home was encouraged. It included putting up tents in the back yard and parking the RV’s in the driveway. All gatherings and celebrations were cancelled, including all the fireworks display. It was the New Normal.

Hope all Canadians still had a Happy Holiday Weekend.

And tomorrow I’ll cover the American Memorial Day.