CANADA DAY – a celebration
of Nationhood! Every year, on July 1st, we each take some time to reflect
on what it means to be part of this amazing country.
This is also a special
day, which reminds us to appreciate the precious freedom that we’ve got as a
gift for the sacrifices made by our countrymen.
Congratulations to you - Canada, and a very Happy Canada Day, to all my dear fellow Canadians!
● Historic
background info:
On
July 1, 1867, the nation was officially born when the “Constitution Act” joined
three provinces into one country: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canada
province, which then split into Ontario and Quebec. However, Canada was not
completely independent of England until 1982. The holiday called “Dominion Day” was officially established
in 1879, but it wasn't observed by many Canadians, who considered themselves to
be British citizens.
“Dominion
Day” started to catch on when the 50th anniversary of the
confederation rolled around, in 1917. In 1946, a bill was put forth to rename
“Dominion Day”, but arguments in the House of Commons over what to call the
holiday stalled the bill.
The
100th anniversary of the nation's official creation in 1967 saw the
growth of the spirit of Canadian patriotism, and “Dominion Day” celebrations really
began to take off. Although quite a few Canadians already called the
holiday “Canada Day” (“Fête du
Canada”), the new name wasn't formally adopted until October
of 1982.
NOTE: Dear readers, please be advised that on this website each of the previous postings, pertaining to the recurrent annual themes, portray a different perspective of the subject/s presented (same theme/s, but a different outlook without duplication due to the cultural richness of the specific topic/s discussed).