Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Happy Birthday Canada!

Happy belated Canada Day everyone!! Yesterday was jam-packed from the time I got up until falling into bed just hours before getting up again to leave for the airport and home, so I didn't get a chance to wish you all a Happy Canada Day. Hopefully you'll accept both my humble apology and also my day-late Canada Day wishes.

Canada Day in Ottawa, ON was absolutely amazing!! I'm really glad that I was able to convince my dad that we needed to experience Canada Day in our capital city. This July 1 was an especially significant one because of three major national anniversaries. First, tomorrow marks the 400th anniversary of Quebec City. Second, this year is the 200th anniversary of a democratic vote being established in Nova Scotia, ensuring Canada would become a democracy. Finally, this year is also British Columbia's 150th anniversary of becoming a British colony, which meant that Canada would enjoy borders from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. All three occasions are being celebrated all year long in their respective regions of Canada. In their speeches at the Parliament Hill noon show, both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor General Michaëlle Jean mentioned these three anniversaries. It was really neat seeing these two Canadian leaders so close up on the Hill yesterday!

Other than the noon show on Parliament Hill, we also visited the Royal Canadian Mint and the Canadian War Museum. Both were free because of the holiday. The only downside to the day was the extreme heat. We were walking around all day with no sunscreen on and now we look like lobsters. Later, in the evening after the merciless sun set, we watched the national fireworks from Major's Hill Park just behind the Parliament buildings. Have I mentioned yet that it was an awesome day?

1 comment:

  1. canada day in ottawa was the best!!!!!!! the whole day...the program and hearing famous ppl sing, the aweseome fireworks, and everything we did in between...........

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