May Run
Victoria Day Long Weekend
The British Queen Victoria is a prominent figure in Canada; during her sixty-four-year reign, the North American province of the British Empire became a Dominion of Canada. Queen Victoria was the one to encourage such course of events, which is why nowadays she is called the “Mother of Confederation”. Her birthday had been recognized as a Canadian holiday since 1845, but after her death in 1901 there was established official Victoria Day.
Nowadays it falls on the Monday before May 25 (between the 18th and the 24th), which is why the holiday is sometimes called “May Two-Four”, also referring to the Canadian slang for a case of twenty four beers, popular for the weekend. Victoria Day may also be named “May Run”, “Victoria Day Long Weekend”, or a combination of the two. The holiday has an older tradition than Canada’s national day.
For long decades before Queen Victoria’s birth, the province of Canada had celebrated birthdays of British kings and queens. One of the reasons to create a special holiday for this particular ruler was that the merged parliament of Lower and Upper Canada sought to unite the English- and French speaking territories in a general custom. That is why the previously military celebrations of royal birthdays turned in 1845 into the day for Queen Victoria, observed on her actual birthday on May 24. In the 1890s Canada the holiday had already gained the status of a patriotic one. Victoria Day was introduced into the federal legislation in 1901; three years later, it was joined by Empire Day for the next three quarters of a century. The British royal birthdays were separate with Victoria Day, which became a special occasion honoring this particular Queen. In 1952, Elizabeth II took the throne and the holiday changed its date from May 24 to the Monday before May 25, honoring also the birthday of the new ruler. In 2013, Canadian online activists proposed a bill to rename Victoria Day into First Peoples Day, but it failed to gain enough signatures.
Historical celebrations of Victoria Day were fairly impressive: in 1854, 5,000 Canada West inhabitants cheered for the Queen in front of the Government House; 12 years later, the town of Omemee launched a day-long celebration, including fireworks, sporting events, picnics, singing, and even a gun salute in the night. These Royal salutes were popular until abolished in 1968.
Nowadays, one of the most important symbols, displayed on every possible public building, is the Union Jack. Some provinces organize parades and firework shows. An important part of Victoria Day observance is the beginning of the warm season, when people start to perform outdoor activities, and summer cottages open. The end of May usually means new gardening possibilities, because winter is very unlikely to come back. For employees, the long weekend brings the opportunity to relax, but also to use the physical energy saved during long hours in the office.
Victoria Day is a statutory holiday on the federal level and in the provinces of Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Ontario. Most provinces recognize it as a general holiday, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia; all of these observe Victoria Day, but not as a statutory holiday. Quebec is the only place where the day has also another name and purpose: the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 is commemorated by Journée nationale des patriotes (National Patriots’ Day).
On Victoria Day, federal institutions and the post office are closed, and private businesses depend on the provincial government legislation. Concerning the relatively short history of Canada, this holiday is an ancient one. It has the most routed tradition and is unique in the world.