Canada Day By: Rachel A. Qitsualik

If there is anything emblematic of the Canadian spirit, it is the July 1st anniversary of Confederation, now known as Canada Day; emblematic, not because of festivity, but rather the evolution of the holiday itself. If one tracks the development of Canada Day, one tracks the birth and maturation of Canadian nationalism itself.

That "birth" might be said to be the 1868 proclamation by Governor General Lord Monck, urging Canadians to celebrate . . . well, Canadian-ness. If we are to go by the records of the years following that proclamation, it was met with the sounds of crickets and snores. This is not surprising, considering that "Canadians" of that era considered themselves British, the French had their own distinct culture, and the Aboriginal peoples were still wondering why they weren't allowed to live on their land anymore.

Even the federal government did not celebrate the suggested holiday until 1917, and then it was simply to commemorate the golden anniversary of Confederation. Actual Dominion Day celebrations, with fireworks and parades, were not held on Parliament Hill until 1958 (a whopping ninety years after Monck), giving us an idea of how long it takes for Canadians to build enthusiasm for new concepts.

We can thank television (the sixties) and a general loosening of Ottawa's purse strings (the eighties) for Canada Day as we now know it. With money at last doled out to provinces and territories to encourage local celebrations, Dominion Day began to assume its contemporary shape; in other words, the "folk" at last embraced it, calling it "Canada Day" (adopted officially in ‘82) and imbuing it with true national texture. Today, Canada Day is in fullest bloom, having assumed a beautiful and valuable multicultural theme, and serving as the only venue through which urban centres annually see Chinese food served next to Greek souvlaki.