chrisgr82214211.bsky.social
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2002 not 2022
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I hope you enjoyed that look at the story of Victoria Day.
If you enjoy my Canadian history content, you can support my work with a donation at 👇
www.buymeacoffee.com/craigu
*sources in next post*
🧵12/12
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From the 1920s to 2022, Quebec had an informal holiday called Fête de Dollard. It was named for Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, an early colonist of New France.
In 2022, the holiday became National Patriots' Day, to honour the patriotes of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837.
🧵11/12
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The day is a general holiday in Alberta, Manitoba, the NWT, Nunavut, New Brunswick and Yukon. It is a statutory holiday in BC, Ontario and Saskatchewan. It is a government holiday in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
🧵10/12
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Canada is the only country that commemorates Queen Victoria with an official holiday.
In 2013, there was an effort to change the name to Victoria and First Peoples Day. While it had several notable supporters, it was not considered in Parliament.
🧵9/12
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In 1952, after being on May 24 for over a century, Victoria Day was made a variable holiday.
It was changed from the fixed day to the last Monday before May 25. This ensured that Canadians would always receive a long weekend to start the summer.
🧵8/12
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From 1901 to 1910, the day was used to celebrate King Edward VII's birthday (even though he was born on Nov. 9).
From 1910 to 1952, the day only honoured Queen Victoria's role as the "Mother of Confederation". The reigning monarch's birthday was celebrated in June.
🧵7/12
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At this point, various names for the day were proposed including Queen's Birthday and Victorian Empire Day. Sir Wilfrid Laurier chose to keep it as Victoria Day to avoid issues with Francophones celebrating a day with an imperialist name.
🧵6/12
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In 1897, the year of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, a bill was introduced to fix her birthday in perpetuity as a holiday in her honour. It failed to pass the House of Commons.
After her death in 1901, the holiday was made a statutory holiday in perpetuity.
🧵5/12
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For the next few decades, the celebration of Victoria Day spread through Canada. After Confederation, it started to make its way west into the new provinces of Manitoba, BC and throughout the vast Northwest Territories.
By the 1890s, it was seen as a patriotic holiday.
🧵4/12
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At the time, loyalty to the Crown was seen as something that distinguished Canadians from Americans. Due to this, the birthday of Queen Victoria, May 24, was chosen to be a public holiday in 1845.
This makes it Canada's oldest official holiday.
🧵3/12
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The story of Victoria Day dates back to about the early-1840s. After Upper and Lower Canada were united into the Province of Canada, the government wanted to create a holiday that could be celebrated by both English and French Canadians.
🧵2/12
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youtu.be/9tgVqe0c8ps?...