History on our Victoria Day Long Weekend or AKA May Two-Four!!
As we head into our May Two-Four long weekend I thought maybe we should brush up on what we are celebrating, other then cottage time, drinking, gathering with friends and fireworks! "Victoria Day (in
French:
Fête de la Reine) is a federal
Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of
Queen Victoria's birthday. The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning
Canadian sovereign's
official birthday is recognized. It is sometimes informally considered as marking the beginning of the summer season in Canada.
The birthday of Queen Victoria was a day for celebration in Canada long before
Confederation, with the first legislation regarding the event being in 1845 passed by the
parliament of the Province of Canada to officially recognize May 24 as the Queen's birthday.
[1] It was noted that on that date in 1854, the 35th birthday of
Queen Victoria, some 5,000 residents of
Canada West gathered in front of
Government House (near present day
King and Simcoe Streets in
Toronto) to "give cheers to their queen."
[2] On May 24, 1866, the town of
Omemee, also in Canada West, mounted a day-long
fête to mark the occasion, including a gun salute at midnight, pre-dawn serenades,
picnics, athletic competitions, a display of illuminations, and a torch-light procession.
[3]Following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, May 24 was by imperial decree made
Empire Day throughout the
British Empire, while, in Canada, it became officially known as
Victoria Day,
[1] a date to remember the late queen, who was deemed the "Mother of Confederation".
[4] Over the ensuing decades, the official date in Canada of the reigning sovereign's birthday changed through various royal proclamations until the haphazard format was abandoned in 1952. That year, the
Governor-General-in-Council moved Empire Day and an amendment to the law moved Victoria Day both to the Monday before May 25,
[1][5] and the
monarch's official birthday in Canada was by regular
vice-regal proclamations made to fall on this same date every year between 1953 and January 31, 1957, when the link was made permanent by
royal proclamation.
[1][6] The following year, Empire Day was renamed
Commonwealth Day and in 1977 it was moved to the second Monday in March, leaving the Monday before May 25 only as both Victoria Day and the Queen's Birthday.
Victoria Day celebrations were marred by tragedy in 1881, when a passenger ferry named
Victoria overturned in the
Thames River, near
London, Ontario. The boat departed in the evening with 600 to 800 people on board — three times the allowable passenger capacity — and capsized part way across the river, drowning some 182 individuals, including a large number of children who had been with their families for Victoria Day picnics at
Springbank Park. The event came to be known as the
Victoria Day disaster.
[7]"Thanks Wikipedia!! Have a safe and fun long weekend everyone!!!
Cheers,
w&c designer girl!
images from: realestatethisweek.ca, earlypics.com, gatheringmosswhilewandering.com
Interior Designer Brad Ford, really nothing else needs to be said! 
