RCMP Anniversary

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Yesterday was the 130th anniversary of the beginning of the famous Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1873 the Northwest Mounted Police was founded; in 1920 the name was changed to what is used today, the RCMP. For more information click here and click here. What did you learn today?

The Big Village Of North America

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In the language of native Indians in Canada, Canada means "Big Village".  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Where Are the Irish ?!

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Current estimates of the total number of Irish in the world are about 80 million.  The largest Irish communities outside of Great Britain are in the United States.  Next are Australia, Canada, Argentina, then New Zealand.  For more information click here, click here, and click here.

What did you learn today?

History of Ground Hog Day

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Ground Hog Day is celebrated only in the United States and Canada, but it evolved from Candlemas celebrations that originated in Europe.  In pre-Christian times, the Romans celebrated the Feast of Lights on February 1, which became Candlemas to the Christians on February 2, and eventually led to the founding of Ground Hog Day in Canada and the U.S.  The underlying reasons for all these celebrations had to do with forecasting the last weeks of winter weather and the viability of the coming spring and summer crops.  There were also religious reasons for celebrating Candlemas, which are quite interesting.  For more information click here.

Thanksgiving in Canada

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In Canada, Thanksgiving is the second Monday of October, and constitutes an official holiday and three-day weekend.  Families usually gather together on any one of the three days of the long weekend for a big meal that includes turkey.  In Quebec, English-speaking families observe this tradition, but the French-speaking families usually do not.  Many Canadian cities have Thanksgiving parades.

The Thanksgiving Day as it is currently celebrated was made official by the government in 1957 as a day of thanks to God for the year's harvest.  However, there has been a Thanksgiving Day of some sort or another in Canada since April 15, 1872, when this day was celebrated in order to give thanks for the recovery of King Edward VII from a serious illness.

For more information, see the ThanksgivingDay.org website.