Kawartha Lakes Mums: Happy Victoria/ Cottage Opening/ Dollard / Patriots Day!

Monday 19 May 2014

Happy Victoria/ Cottage Opening/ Dollard / Patriots Day!

Kawartha Lakes Mums - How Are You Celebrating Your Long Weekend?

May 24 weekend came early this year, and definitely chillier than most. With the actual May 24 falling next Saturday, today is the earliest the long weekend holiday could occur. Typically this long weekend in City of Kawartha Lakes signals the beginning of 'cottaging' with our 'Kawartha Lakes Hummingbirds' heading here to engage in the yearly tasks of 'opening their cottage' for the coming season. It also signals the return of our "Kawartha Lakes Snowbirds" from their sojourn in Florida. Welcome home!

Looking at the calendar, I was surprised to find today is also 'National Patriots Day'Are you wondering about National Patriots Day too? Here is what I found out with a little digging:

Victoria Day has a long, complicated history, especially in Quebec, which is where National Patriots’ Day and Dollard Day originated. Here is a bit of a time line:

1845, May 24 commemorated the birthday of Queen Victoria and officially Queen’s Day,
1866 Omemee mounted a day long fête to celebrate the Queen's Birthday
1901 after Queen Victoria's death Queen’s Day, became Empire Day a moveable celebration coinciding with the birthday of the ruling British monarch
1952 Empire Day was permanently set for the Monday preceding May 24
1958, Empire Day was renamed Commonwealth Day,
1977 Commonwealth Day was moved to the beginning of March, and May 24 holiday once again became Victoria Day.
1990 Bethany starts Victoria Day Weekend Celebrations -the must do event for this weekend

So where does Dollard Day and National Patriots Day fit in with this mix?
According to the Farmers Almanac, Quebecois have never celebrated Victoria Day. Instead, Quebec created an unofficial holiday, Fête de Dollard, coincide with the same date. This day honoured Quebecois military hero Adam Dollard des Ormeaux. In 2003, Quebec’s provincial government made the day an official holiday, renaming it National Patriots’ Day, “to underline the importance of the struggle of the patriots of 1837– 1838 for the national recognition of our people, for its political liberty and to obtain a democratic system of government.”
So when is the current Queen's Birthday? While today is set aside to celebrate the Queen's Birthday, these are belated birthday wishes- April 21 is the actual birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.Did you know she will soon be the longest reigning British Monarch?