Happy Canada Day!
Happy 145th Birthday Canada!
We celebrate our national day on July 1st!
Canadians celebrate this day with parades, picnics, parties, barbecues, concerts, and fireworks! People wear red and white clothes or wear something with a red maple leaf (the symbol in the middle of our flag).
The biggest celebration is always in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. It’s the biggest party in the country! The downtown streets are closed to cars so people can wander around the city. There are celebrations all day on Parliament Hill, including free concerts by Canadian musicians. Simple Plan, Feist, Roch Voisine, and Jully Black are all performing this year. The day ends with a huge fireworks display!
Check out a collection of Canada Day pictures on Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/etmelanie/canada-day/
Why July 1st?
It was on this day in 1867 that Canada officially became a country! Before then, there were several different British colonies on the land that is now Canada. In 1867, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec were the first 4 provinces to join the country. The last province to join Canada in 1948 was Newfoundland, and now there are 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada.
Is Canada really ONLY 145 years old?
Well, there have been people living here for much longer than 145 years! The native Indians (Canada’s First Nations) lived here for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived. The first Europeans arrived in 1000 A.D., when the Vikings settled at L’Anse aux Meadows on the east coast of Canada. They didn’t stay very long! Explorers employed by the British and French governments began exploring this land in 1497, but neither country established a colony here until almost 100 years later, Britain in 1583 and France in 1605. It took another 200 years and a couple wars before Canada officially became a country!
When does your country celebrate its birthday?
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