Do You Know The History of "Victoria Day"

Do You Know The History of Victoria Day !

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Everything you need to know about the origin of Victoria Day!?

Do you have anything special planned? Hanging out with family? A Picnic? A Road Trip? The Cottage? Or just kicking back??

Do you know the origin of Victoria Day and why there’s a reason to celebrate??

History of Victoria Day

AKA 'May Long Weekend', 'May Long',?or 'May Two-Four Weekend'

The Victoria Day holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on Victoria's actual birthday (May 24). In 1845, during the reign of Queen Victoria, May 24, the queen’s birthday, was declared a holiday in Canada. After Victoria’s death in 1901, an act of the Canadian Parliament established Victoria Day as a legal holiday, to be celebrated on May 24 (or on May 25 when May 24 fell on a Sunday).

The holiday has always been a distinctly Canadian observance and continues to be celebrated across the country. And it now falls on the Monday between the 18th and the 24th (inclusive) and so is always the penultimate Monday of May (May 23 in 2022 and May 22 in 2023).

Victoria Day is a federal statutory holiday, as well as a holiday in six of Canada's ten provinces and all three of its territories.

In Quebec, before 2003, the Monday preceding May 25 of each year was unofficially the French: Fête de Dollard, a commemoration of Adam Dollard des Ormeaux initiated in the 1920s to coincide with Victoria Day. In 2003, provincial legislation officially created National Patriots' Day on the same date.

Royal birthdays for members of French and British royal families have been commemorated in various parts of Canada since the 17th century. These were ad hoc commemorations, not holidays enshrined in law. However, until the mid-19th century, the monarch's birthday was more of a military occasion than a civil celebration, as it was the day when able-bodied men in the colony assembled into their militia units for their compulsory military training, as well as attended reviews and celebrations in commemoration of the monarch.

Shortly after the Canadas were united into the Province of Canada, the Parliament sought to create a new public holiday that would form common ground between English and French Canadians, helping them transcend their religious and cultural differences.

The birthday of Queen Victoria was selected to be transformed into a public holiday, as it was a date that appealed to both English and French Canadians. At the time, loyalty to the Crown was seen as a key trait that distinguished Canada from the United States and the monarchy was viewed as a "guarantor of minority rights" in the colony.??

The Queen's birthday was officially designated as a public holiday by legislation passed in 1845, transforming the date from a military event to a civilian holiday and making it Canada's now-oldest official holiday.

By Canadian Confederation in 1867, Victoria Day celebrations were held in communities in Ontario and Quebec and would later spread to other parts of the country as it expanded.

The day had become a "patriotic holiday" by the 1890s.?Amid the Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, the Senate passed a bill that aimed to fix the Queen's birthday in perpetuity as a holiday in her honour.?It was not until after Victoria's death in May 1901 that the Queen's Birthday was made a perpetual statutory holiday by which to remember the late Queen, who was deemed the "Mother of Confederation". The name Victoria Day was selected by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, who wanted to avoid an imperialist name that would antagonize French Canadians.

In 1952, the date for Victoria Day was made variable, changing from May 24 to the last Monday before May 25 each year, ensuring that most Canadians would receive a long weekend. The monarch's official birthday in Canada was, by regular viceregal proclamations, made to fall on this same day as Victoria Day every year between 1953 and 1956. On January 31, 1957, the link was made permanent by royal proclamation.

So, why do we celebrate it today?

Well, for most, Victoria Day unofficially signals the start of the summer season in Canada. Cottages are opened up, campsites are being used, boats and paddlers are out on lakes, and it is celebrated with parades and fireworks in many cities.

Did we mention that summer is just around the corner? Woohoo!!!!

And we suspect that for most it’s about celebrating the start of summer and much less about observing the birthday of the iconic Queen Victoria.

The holiday is colloquially known in parts of Canada as "May Two-Four"; a double entendre that refers both to the date around which the holiday falls (May 24) and the Canadian slang for a case of twenty-four beers (a "two-four"), a drink popular during the long weekend. The holiday weekend is also be known as the "May long weekend".

And now you know more about the Victoria Day holiday or May 24 holiday weekend than you probably every wanted to know.

You’re welcome!!!!?Wishing each of you an incredible long weekend - Enjoy and be safe!!!

Now, more than ever, it’s time to take advantage of the FREE Consultation for your Mortgage Review in this tough and unpredictable market scenario and to stay conncted!

Cheers,

Rajiv Verma, Trusted Mortgage Broker for Canadians