MeghanEmily
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2016
Hmm, I hadn't thought of that aspect of the holiday. I suppose that would put a bit of a damper on things I guess.
Yes, reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians has been a hot political topic as of late, and it has [I believe, rightly] come up a lot in the Canada Day discussion this year!
What do Canadians do for a celebration like this? Fireworks? Parades? Special foods?
Yes, yes, and yes! I think in many ways the celebrations are similar to 4th of July (we live on the border, so we've experienced a little of both,) but of course with different patriotic loyalties. Had we not been rained out, we would have had our choice of 3-4 fireworks shows within 30 minutes of home. There were free concerts at a couple locations in the city. And since we live in a pretty temperate climate and only get so many weeks of beautiful summer weather a year, Canada Day is typically a big "patio" day. The restaurants and bars have their patios open and people hop from one to the next, drink, and are generally quite merry...all while wearing various clothing items in red and white. Some people celebrate with stereotypically Canadian foods, like poutine, hodge podge, maple this-and-that, and the like, but most party foods and drinks are acceptable. There are usually community events for kids (e.g. last year I worked at a community day with bouncy castles, barbecues, characters, face paintings, etc.) I celebrated this year by working for the diner I sing at for a free pancake breakfast in the rain, by doing a princess birthday party in the afternoon, and then by hitting a "ribfest" in the evening for a selection of BBQ'd meats and lemonade, etc.