Monday, June 30, 2014

Happy Birthday Canada Day!

Information on Canada for my Australian grandson.

Canada has a birthday on July 1st.  Canada Day is a national holiday in Canada that is celebrated with family picnics, barbeques, and fireworks.

Canada Day is always observed on July 1st unless that date falls on a Sunday, in which case it is observed the following day.  (Though many people still celebrate on the Sunday).

A long time ago, Canada belonged to Great Britain, just like Australia.  Over time, parts of the country joined together and wanted to form their own government.

Australia and Canada
Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the large island continent of Australia, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Australia has six states, each of which has their own democratic parliament -- New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia.  Australia also has two major mainland territories -- the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (which contains Australia's capital city of Canberra).

Canada is part of North America. Canada is a large country. There are 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada.  Ontario, QuebecBritish Columbia, AlbertaManitoba,
Saskatchewan Nova ScotiaNew BrunswickNewfoundland and LabradorPrince Edward IslandNorthwest TerritoriesYukonNunavut

The leader of both Canada and Australia is called the Prime Minister.


Some symbols of Canada are the beaver and the maple leaf. The word “Canada” comes from the aboriginal word “Kanata” which means village.  A village is a small community, but Canada is anything but small!  Canada is a very big country.  In fact, it is the second largest country (by area) in the world

On July 1, 1867, the British government (under Queen Victoria) approved a plan which allowed Canada to become an independent country with its own government.  This new nation, which remained loyal to Britain, was called the Dominion of Canada.  At that time, the new Dominion of Canada had only four provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick).  

I've tried to provide a BRIEF history of Canada's Birthday that you can share with your friends on Canada Day.  If you're looking for more detail on Canadian history, check out the National Library of Canada's Confederation section or try a Canadian Trivia game. Celebrating Canada Day:

Canada Day is celebrated with a wide variety of parties, BBQ's, picnics and the like.  Mary Flynn from Songs4Teachers has kindly provided a simple song to learn for Canada Day.

We're Proud to Be Canadians - song to Sing a Song of Sixpence

OR

O Canada! (in French and English) - try our National Anthem  

Canadian Fast Facts:  

O CANADA" was first sung on June 24, 1880.  But it was not officially proclaimed our national anthem until July 1, 1980

The Canadian Coat of Arms has a motto on it:  A Mari usque ad Mare -- this means from Sea to Sea.

The motto is based on biblical scripture: "He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth (Psalm 72:8)".

In our anthem we ask God to keep our land glorious and free.  Our anthem is part prayer. Although we do try to keep government and religion separate in day to day practice.

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