The History and Origin of Victoria Day
Victoria Day
(called Fête de la Reine in French)
was established as an official legal holiday in 1901 by the Canadian
Parliament in remembrance of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Queen Victoria
was the English sovereign from 1837 (after the death of George IV – her
uncle) at the age of 18 until her own death in 1901.They chose May 24th,
the birthday of Queen Victoria to be the date of the holiday (unless it
came out on a Sunday, then a proclamation is made to have it celebrated
on the 25th). In addition, the date of her birthday had been
already been celebrated in parts of Canada (originally called Canada
West, which is comprised mainly of modern Ontario) since 1845, when the
Legislature of the Province of Canada declared this date a legal holiday
in honor of the Queen’s birthday and was called Sovereigns Day – and
throughout Canada and the English Empire since the early 1890s,
celebrating Empire Day in her honor [changed to Commonwealth Day in 1958
and changed to the second Monday in March in 1977). In 1952, the
Statutes of Canada were amended so that Victoria would be celebrated on
the Monday preceding May 25th. Also note that Great Britain
celebrates the Queen’s Birthday in early June. There has recently been
some talk about changing the name of the holiday (e.g. Citizenship Day
or Heritage Day) or even moving the date to coincide with
Memorial Day (a U.S. holiday),
which occurs about a week later. It is already referred to as
Fête de Dollard in Quebec in
commemoration of Adam Dollard des Ormeaux (a French-Canadian soldier and
folk hero who (in 1660) led 22 men to defend against a force of 500).
Note, the holiday
is not officially celebrated in the following Canadian provinces: New
Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward
Island.
Birthday Celebration of the
English Sovereigns
The birthday of
the sovereign following Victoria, her son, King Edward VII (actually
born on November 9th) was celebrated on Victoria Day by
official proclamation. However, not all subsequent rulers followed
suit, and usually used their own birth dates. [See chart below]
|
Sovereign |
Years of Reign |
Date of Birth |
Official Celebration |
|
Queen Elizabeth II |
1952-Present |
April 21, 1926 |
1952 = June 9
1953-present = Victoria Day |
|
King George VI |
1936-1952 |
December 14, 1895 |
June 9, 1937
June 9, 1938
May 20, 1939
June 13, 1940
June 9, 1941
June 8, 1942
June 2, 1943
June 8, 1944 |
June 14, 1945
June 10, 1946
June 10, 1947
June 7, 1948
June 6, 1949
June 5, 1950
June 4, 1951 |
|
King Edward VIII |
1936 |
June 23, 1894 |
June 23 |
|
King George V |
1910-1935 |
June 3, 1865 |
June 3 |
|
King Edward VII |
1901-1910 |
November 9, 1841 |
May 24 |
|
Queen Victoria |
1837-1901 |
24 May, 1819 |
May 24 |
Victoria Day Customs and Traditions
The traditional
celebration of Victoria Day usually includes taking the day off from
work and spending it with the family. Bar-B-Qs and spending time with
your kids in the park are usual destinations of the celebrants. The
evenings are usually concluded with watching a fireworks display or
setting them off yourself (some people refer to the holiday as fire
cracker day). Other go away for the long three day weekend. The
holiday is also called “May two-four” by some because (1) it falls out
around May 24th, but also (2) it refers to a case of beer
with 24 bottles, since drinking is another usual tradition of the
holiday. |
General
Websites about Victoria Day
Annie’s Victoria Day Page (AnniesHomepage.com): Information and related
links about Victoria Day.
Happy Victoria Day (TwilightBridge.com): “The ultimate collection of
resources for Victoria Day Celebrations in Canada”
Information,
Origin and History of Victoria Day
The 24th Of May: Victoria Day (Yaffles & Yaffles):
Information and history of the holiday, also includes a bit of the holiday’s
traditions.
Celebrating Victoria Day (KidsTurnCentral.com): Brief overview of the
holiday
Holidays & Festivals: Victoria Day (GlobalSeek.net): Information and
history of Victoria Day.
The Making of a Holiday – Victoria Day (TwilightBridge.com):
Information, history and story of how Victoria Day came into being.
Victoria Day (Department of Canadian Heritage): Information on the
origin and history of the Victoria Day Holiday – includes a chart of
Sovereign’s birthdays & observances.
Victoria Day (Golden Gate Genealogy Forum): Information on the Victoria
Day holiday and Queen Victora.
Victoria Day – (InglewoodCareCentre.com): Information on the holiday and
the birthdays of other sovereigns.
Victoria Day – (Calendar-Updates.com): Information, history and origin
of Victoria Day.
Victoria Day (Encyclopedia.Lockergnome.com): Everything you wanted to
know about Victoria Day but Had No Clue How to Find It.
Victoria Day
Traditions
The 24th Of May: Victoria Day (Yaffles & Yaffles):
Information and history of the holiday, also includes a bit of the holiday’s
traditions.
Victoria Day
Events
Victoria Day at the Detroit Zoo (WoodwardHeritage.com)
Victoria Day Canada Events (TorontoHarbour.com)
Victoria Day Celebrations – Fort Henry (ThinkKingston.com)
Victoria Day Fun at Fort York (Toronto.com)
Victoria Day
Crafts and Activities for Kids
Victoria Day (Crayola.com): Coloring activities, craft ideas, e-cards
and lesson plans
|
Victoria Day
Recipes
Picnic Recipes for Canada and Victoria Day (TwilightBridge.com)
Recipes From the Victorian Era (TwilightBridge.com)
Spring 2005: Recipes and Entertaining (FoodTV.ca)
Victoria Day Quotations”
“Quote-un-Quote” : Queen Victoria (TwilightBridge.com)
Victoria Day Multimedia
Victoria Day eCards/GreetingCards
Free Victoria Day Ecards (123Greetings.com)
Holiday Ecards: Victoria Day (CardFountain.com)
Victoria Day (BlueMountain.com)
Victoria Day (Dgreetings.com)
Victoria Day (Postcards.org)
Victoria Day Screen Savers
Victorian Screensavers for Your PC (TwilightBridge.com)
Victoria Day Desktop Themes
Victorian Desktop Thems for Your PC (TwilightBridge.com)
Victoria Day Wallpaper
Victorian Wallpapers for your PC (TwilightBridge.com)
Victoria Day
Stories and Poems
Victoria Day by Matt Squires (Washington Yacht Club)
Victoria Day: Dina’s Weekly Feature by Dina (Pearson Adult Learning
Centre)
Victoria Day on the Island by Emily Cumming (FrodosNotebook.com)
Victoria Day
News
News and Articles on Victoria Day (SurfWax.com)
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria (InglewoodCareCenter.com): Information on the life and
history of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).
Queen Victoria – A Brief Biography (TwilightBridge.com): A short bio of
Queen Victoria.
Miscellaneous
Victoria Day Websites
Victoria Day, A Public Holiday Under Employment Standards Act, 2002
(Ontario Ministry of Labour)
Victoria Picnic Etiquettes (TwilightBridge.com)
|
