What is Victoria Day? Why is it celebrated?

Victoria Day, otherwise called May Two-Four, May Long, and May Long Weekend, is a Canadian statutory holiday on Monday going before May 25 in each region and domain. It honors the birthday of Queen Victoria. Victoria Day 2020 falls on Monday, May 18.

What is Victoria Day?

Victoria Day (French: Fête de la Reine) is a government Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, at first out of appreciation for Queen Victoria’s birthday it is presently celebrated as the official birthday of the current Queen of Canada. It is casually viewed as the start of the summer season in Canada.

The holiday has been seen in Canada since at least 1845, initially falling on Victoria’s actual birthday (May 24, 1819). It keeps on being praised in different fashions the nation over; the holiday has consistently been a particularly Canadian observance. As such, it is the Monday between the 18th to the 24th inclusive, and in this manner is always the penultimate Monday of (May 18 in 2020 and May 24 in 2021).

Victoria Day is a government statutory holiday, as well as a holiday in six of Canada’s ten regions and every one of the three of its regions. In Quebec, before 2003, the Monday going before 25 May of every year was informally the Fête de Dollard, a commemoration of Adam Dollard des Ormeaux started during the 1920s to coincide with Victoria Day. Provincial legislation authoritatively made National Patriots’ Day on a similar date in 2003.

In Quebec this holiday is designated “National Patriotes Day” (Journée nationale des patriotes).

Victoria Day History

The day praises and celebrates the birth of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria was born on May 24th, 1819 in Britain and rose the throne at the youthful age of 18. During her reign, she administered the Dominion of Canada until she broadcasted the Confederation of its initial 4 regions in 1867 and selecting Ottawa as the national capital. In Canada, Queen Victoria is frequently alluded to as the Mother of Confederation.

Queen Victoria was the ruler of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from June 20th, 1837 until she died in 1901.

Victoria ruled for 63 years and seven months, a record for a British ruler that was just beaten in September 2015 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Even though she never really visited Canada, Queen Victoria grew up knowing a ton about Canada. Her dad, the Duke of Kent (Prince Edward, the fourth child of King George III), had lived for about ten years in Quebec City and Halifax.

For some Canadians, Victoria Day denotes the informal start of summer, with numerous individuals opening their summer cabins. It is a well-known holiday as it is the first holiday to occur in the warmer summer months.

In Quebec, National Patriotes’ Day (Journée nationale des patriotes) which is a remembrance of the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837 is celebrated on a similar day as Victoria Day.

While Victoria Day is a holiday for every single government worker across Canada, it’s not a paid statutory holiday in New Brunswick under the Days of Rest Act. Nova Scotia is the only area or region not to assign the day a holiday.

The holiday is called ‘May Two-Four’ in certain parts of Canada, a name that alludes both to the date around which the holiday falls (May 24th) and Canadian slang for a case of twenty-four beers (a “two-four”), a beverage well known during the long weekend.

As it generally falls on a Monday, prompting a long weekend, it might likewise be known as ‘May Long’ or ‘May Run’.

On Victoria Day, all city, state, and government offices are shut. Schools, post offices, banks, and libraries are likewise closed. Public transport will run on a decreased holiday plan.

Today, Victoria Day the current monarch’s birthday celebration and the start of the summer season. Even though Victoria Day was initially announced a festival in 1854, making it Canada’s oldest state holiday, it was just authoritatively broadcasted in 1901 after the queen’s death. This holiday is seen on the Monday before May 25th.