Victoria Day

[jamiethearcher]

This weekend is the Victoria Day long weekend (In Canada at least, not sure about the rest of the Commonwealth), in honour of that great monarch, Queen Victoria.

I feel that today, it is just a meaningless long weekend (i.e. its just the May 2-4 weekend to party, not an actual celebration of our heritage)

Does anyone feel like this?

 

[GenMarshall]

Meh, I am an American and we dont have Victoria Day :s.

 

[jamiethearcher]

Meh, I am an American and we dont have Victoria Day :s.

well you rebels had left the empire before her time and all that!

I am actually living in the US and its a pain - All my family has this weekend long, while I have to work on monday, and next weekend I have the long weekend for memorial day, while all my family doesnt!

 

[Rhymes]

not for me, retaillers don't close on those fake a$$ holidays

 

[GenMarshall]

well you rebels had left the empire before her time and all that!

Actualy, I am not the rebel since most of my great-great grandparents Came over from Europe (Irish, English, Polish, & Norwegian) and Canada 100 years ago .

 

[warpus]

We really should rename some of these holidays. Victoria day.. Who the hell cares about Victoria? Let's celebrate the name of somebody Canadian instead.

 

[jamiethearcher]

We really should rename some of these holidays. Victoria day.. Who the hell cares about Victoria? Let's celebrate the name of somebody Canadian instead.

Well, I am a monarchist, and I think our heritage as part of the Empire is important, I just wish the rest of the country agreed with me!

What would you recomend we change it to? Macdonald Day? Laurier Day? I mean, we already have Canada day on July 1, what good is another Canadian nationalism day going to do? I think people would still think of it as just another drinking weekend if we changed it to a more Canadian Content format.

 

[cairo140]

Meh, I am an American and we dont have Victoria Day :s.

Queen Victoria was the woman who outlawed slavery in the Commonwealth well before the United States did. You guys all went off and claimed independence, so you kept slavery going for a few decades before that whole Civil War fiasco.

 

[warpus]

Well, I am a monarchist, and I think our heritage as part of the Empire is important, I just wish the rest of the country agreed with me!

Sure, our heritage is important, but the Empire is long gone.

What would you recomend we change it to? Macdonald Day? Laurier Day? I mean, we already have Canada day on July 1, what good is another Canadian nationalism day going to do? I think people would still think of it as just another drinking weekend if we changed it to a more Canadian Content format.

Well, instead of celebrating the lives of foreigners, how about we celebrate the lives of Canadians? What we would change it to is debatable - Gretzky? Bell? Cohen? North? Banting?

There are plenty to choose from!

Or how about a National Hockey day?

 

[simonnomis]

Well, instead of celebrating the lives of foreigners, how about we celebrate the lives of Canadians?

But at what point does one become a 'foreigner'? Certainly most Canadian settlers (minus Quebec) did not think of themselves as foreign to the British when Victoria was on the throne, especially as a lot had only migrated over in recent time. Which would mean Victoria is as much a symbol of the modern Canadian nation as she is of the modern British nation; ie, a part of the cultural heritage and history, irrespective of her current irrelevance.

 

[History_Buff]

I'd much rather have Victoria day than a day named after a Canadian. Mostly, because there aren't that many Canadians that deserve it. Ol' Vicky did a huge service to the Empire, Canada included, and it's good it still has her name on it, even if nobody really celebrates Victoria.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I think it's good for a country to retain practices like this as a celebration of their heritage.

 

[Esckey]

Happy Victoria Day!
I wouldn't celebrate this day if it was <some random canadian> Day.

 

[Xanikk999]

Whats so great about victoria anyway? Didnt see extend british imperialism even more?

 

[sysyphus]

I think it's good for a country to retain practices like this as a celebration of their heritage.

This is Canada, we have no heritage, we just borrow from Britain's and to a lesser extent, the US.

Seriously, if we really want to honour our country and what it's all about, then I believe that being tied down to pointless traditions like a foreign monarchy goes against the grain of our national identity.

 

[GoldEagle]

So Vicoria Day in Canada is a little bit like Matin Luther King Jr. Day in America?

 

[sysyphus]

How do you reckon?

 

[GoldEagle]

How do you reckon?

Because many Americans just blow it off and say, "Hell, free weekend, sweet!"

 

[sysyphus]

Ah, got it.

Yeah that's pretty much it.

 

[Pyrite]

I think the same goes for any actually historical commemorative day.