Here’s to the holiday
Posted May 23, 2011 06:29:22 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You can thank Queen Victoria for this holiday.
While this long weekend has more commonly become known as the “unofficial” start to the Canadian summer, we actually mark the day in celebration of the birthday of the longest-reigning monarch in history, Queen Victoria.
The holiday actually continues a Commonwealth tradition known as Empire Day, which was widely celebrated in the latter half of the 19th century but without a uniform date.
“But in Canada, in 1901, just a few weeks after the death of Queen Victoria, Canada officially renamed its Empire Day to Victoria Day,” explains Dale Dyce, Marketing and Communications co-ordinator at the Kitchener Public Library.
Today, Canadians continue to observe Victoria Day even though Queen Elizabeth is now the reigning monarch. Her birthday is April 21st.
Dyce notes that the May 24th observance may continue because its timing coincides nicely with the changing of the weather in Canada. This long weekend is known for its cottage openings, spring garden plantings and camping trips.
“Isn’t a funny coincidence that (the weekend) is the 24th, which is also the most common size of your favourite suds to buy,” jokes Dyce. “But I think it just sort of worked out that way.”
The city of Kitchener is certainly not unique in its naming of a major street after the late queen or even the dedication of a park. But it’s a small connection to the past that many may no longer think about today.
“Victoria Park was dedicated in 1896, in the last three years of (Victoria’s) reign. And even at that time she was the longest-reigning monarch,” Dyce says. “In 1911, the Victoria Park statue that we’re all familiar with was dedicated on her actual birthday, Victoria Day, ten years after her death.”
Victoria Day is a legal holiday throughout Canada and celebrated on the last Monday before or on May 24. While it is often thought of as a purely Canadian event, Victoria Day is also celebrated in some parts of Scotland, particularly in Edinburgh, well as in the Cayman Islands, where it is also a public holiday.
