Victoria Day - Canada
May 18, 2009
Victoria Day (in French: F?te de la Reine), colloquially known as May Two-four, May Long, or May Run, is a Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday before or on 24 May, in honour of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday. It has been marked since before Canada was formed, originally falling on the sovereign's actual birthday, and continues to be celebrated across the country on a fixed date and in various fashions, also being considered an informal mark of the beginning of the summer season.
Official protocol dictates that on Victoria Day, the Royal Union Flag must be flown from sunrise to sunset at all federal buildings – including airports, military bases, and other Crown owned property across the country – where physical arrangements allow (i.e. where a second flag pole exists, as the Royal Union Flag can never displace the national flag). Several cities will hold a parade on the holiday, with the most prominent being that which has taken place since 1898 in the monarch's namesake city of Victoria, British Columbia.
Other common celebrations include an evening fireworks show, such as that held at Ashbridge's Bay Beach in the east end of Toronto, and at Ontario Place, in the same city.
As a federal holiday, Victoria Day remains a holiday in Quebec. However, in 2003, the province's legislative assembly passed legislation that dedicated the same day as National Patriots' Day, which commemorates the patriotes of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837, and many in Quebec will celebrate this event rather than Victoria Day. Despite being a federal holiday, Victoria Day is generally not celebrated in Quebec and Nunavut.
Across the country, Victoria Day serves as the unofficial marker of the end of the winter social season, and thus the beginning of the summer social calendar. Banff, Alberta's Sunshine Village ends its lengthy ski season on Victoria Day, and, likewise, it is during this long weekend that many summer businesses – such as parks, outdoor restaurants, bicycle rentals, city tour operators, etc. – will open.
Victoria Day is also a mark of the beginning of the cottage season, the time when cottage owners may reverse the winterization of their property. Gardeners in Canada will similarly regard Victoria Day as the beginning of spring, as it falls at a time when one can be fairly certain that frost will not return until the next autumn.
The holiday is colloquially known as May Two-Four in most parts of Canada; a double entendre that refers both to the date on which the holiday usually falls (24 May) and the Canadian slang for a case of 24 beers (a "two-four"), a drink popular during the long weekend. In Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and some other parts of Canada, this holiday weekend is also known as May Long or May Run (mainly in Timmins, Ontario, and some other regional communities of northeastern Ontario).
May 18, 2009
Victoria Day (in French: F?te de la Reine), colloquially known as May Two-four, May Long, or May Run, is a Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday before or on 24 May, in honour of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday. It has been marked since before Canada was formed, originally falling on the sovereign's actual birthday, and continues to be celebrated across the country on a fixed date and in various fashions, also being considered an informal mark of the beginning of the summer season.
Official protocol dictates that on Victoria Day, the Royal Union Flag must be flown from sunrise to sunset at all federal buildings – including airports, military bases, and other Crown owned property across the country – where physical arrangements allow (i.e. where a second flag pole exists, as the Royal Union Flag can never displace the national flag). Several cities will hold a parade on the holiday, with the most prominent being that which has taken place since 1898 in the monarch's namesake city of Victoria, British Columbia.
Other common celebrations include an evening fireworks show, such as that held at Ashbridge's Bay Beach in the east end of Toronto, and at Ontario Place, in the same city.
As a federal holiday, Victoria Day remains a holiday in Quebec. However, in 2003, the province's legislative assembly passed legislation that dedicated the same day as National Patriots' Day, which commemorates the patriotes of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837, and many in Quebec will celebrate this event rather than Victoria Day. Despite being a federal holiday, Victoria Day is generally not celebrated in Quebec and Nunavut.
Across the country, Victoria Day serves as the unofficial marker of the end of the winter social season, and thus the beginning of the summer social calendar. Banff, Alberta's Sunshine Village ends its lengthy ski season on Victoria Day, and, likewise, it is during this long weekend that many summer businesses – such as parks, outdoor restaurants, bicycle rentals, city tour operators, etc. – will open.
Victoria Day is also a mark of the beginning of the cottage season, the time when cottage owners may reverse the winterization of their property. Gardeners in Canada will similarly regard Victoria Day as the beginning of spring, as it falls at a time when one can be fairly certain that frost will not return until the next autumn.
The holiday is colloquially known as May Two-Four in most parts of Canada; a double entendre that refers both to the date on which the holiday usually falls (24 May) and the Canadian slang for a case of 24 beers (a "two-four"), a drink popular during the long weekend. In Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and some other parts of Canada, this holiday weekend is also known as May Long or May Run (mainly in Timmins, Ontario, and some other regional communities of northeastern Ontario).
