Originally known as Empire Day, it was intended to be a day that would "remind children that they formed part of the British Empire" It was conceived in 1897 by Canadian authoress, Clementina Trenholm Fessenden, who in 1898, introduced an Empire Day to Ontario schools, on the last school day before 24 May, Queen Victoria's birthday. Empire Day or Victoria Day was celebrated in the Cape Colony before the Second Boer War and thereafter throughout the Union of South Africa.
It was introduced in the UK in 1904 by Reginald Brabazon, 12th Earl of Meath, 'to nurture a sense of collective identity and imperial responsibility among young empire citizens'.
In 1958, the name was changed to Commonwealth Day and, in 1973, the National Council in Canada of the Royal Commonwealth Society suggested that Commonwealth Day should be observed simultaneously throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. This proposal was included in the Canadian items for discussion in the agenda for the 1975 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. After the meeting, it was agreed that the Commonwealth Secretariat should select a date with no historical connotations so that the entire Commonwealth could use it as a date to celebrate Commonwealth Day.
At a meeting in Canberra in May 1976, senior Commonwealth officials agreed on a new fixed date for Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March.
In Canada, however, where since 1952, it was the official birthday of the reigning monarch of Canada, Empire Day had become entrenched as Victoria Day and the unofficial first day of summer, much like Memorial Day in the US. The new 'Commonwealth Day' took a back seat, observed only by a federal government stipulation that the Royal Union Flag be flown alongside Canada's flag at government installations nationwide, "where physical arrangements allow".
There you have everything about Victoria Day that you didn't need to know, but if you're Canadian, enjoy May Two-Four, and Happy Victoria Day!
.pdf.jpg) |
| Cover for the 1952 Empire Day program issued by Ontario's Department of Education |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are subject to deletion if they are not germane. I have no problem with a bit of colourful language, but blasphemy or depraved profanity will not be allowed. Attacks on the Catholic Faith will not be tolerated. Comments will be deleted that are republican (Yanks! Note the lower case 'r'!), attacks on the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ (I know he's a material heretic and a Protector of Perverts, and I definitely want him gone yesterday! However, he is Pope, and I pray for him every day.), the legitimacy of the House of Windsor or of the claims of the Elder Line of the House of France, or attacks on the legitimacy of any of the currently ruling Houses of Europe.