Valentine's Day
Date:
February 14
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
Valentine's Day is observed every February 14.
A tradition dating back to the third century, the holiday is now celebrated by showing love, affection and appreciation for others with gifts (usually candy or flowers) or cards.
According to Roman legend, during the third century a Christian man known as Valentinus was imprisoned for his Christian beliefs and sentenced to death. While jailed, it is said that Valentinus restored the sight of his jailer's blind daughter. The night before he died, Valentinus wrote a farewell note to the girl, which he signed, "From Your Valentine." His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 269 A.D.
Around 498 A.D., Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine's Day to honor the martyr Valentinus.
National Flag Day
Date:
February 15
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
On February 15, 1995, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proclaimed that every February 15th would be known as Flag Day in Canada to commemorate the first time the maple leaf flag was raised over Parliament Hill.
St. Patrick’s Day
Date:
March 17
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
St. Patrick's Day is observed each year on March 17. St. Patrick's Day is not an official national holiday in Canada.
St. Patrick's Day invokes the spirit of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland who is credited with bringing Christianity to the island.
Observed as a religious occasion in Ireland, in Canada, it is often marked with festive parades, socializing with family and friends, and wearing green clothing.
April Fools' Day
Date:
April 1
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
April Fools' Day is always celebrated on April 1st. It is the name given to the custom of playing jokes on friends on that day.The history of April Fools' Day, sometimes called "All Fools' Day", is not clear. The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in France in 1563.
The tradition eventually spread to England and Scotland in the eighteenth century. It was later introduced to the American colonies of both the English and French. Eventually, April Fools' Day spread around the world, with different nationalities specializing in their own brand of humour at the expense of their friends and families.
Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fools' Day. Sometimes, elaborate jokes played on friends or relatives might last the entire day. Even the news media gets involved. Whatever the prank, the joker usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!".
Earth Day
Date:
April 22
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide.
More than six million Canadians join 500 million people in over 180 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. Nearly every school child in Canada takes part in an Earth Day activity.
Earth Day is celebrated in many countries on the Vernal Equinox (March 20th or 21st) which marks the moment that Spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere and Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. In Canada, the United States and several other countries, Earth Day is primarily celebrated on April 22nd of each year.
The concept of Earth Day began in the spring of 1970. Exactly how and when it was conceived, as well as who was responsible for its origination, is still debated.
Mother’s Day
Date:
Second Sunday in May
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in May.
Mother's Day is set aside to acknowledge, show appreciation for and honour your "mom" (and other moms in your life).
Anna M. Jarvis, born in 1864 in Webster, West Virginia (U.S.), is credited as the force behind the official Mother's Day observance. When Jarvis was 41, her mother died. On the second anniversary of her mother's death (the second Sunday in May 1908), Jarvis made public her plans to establish a day to honour mothers. The observance became official in 1914.
Father’s Day
Date:
Third Sunday in June
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
Father's Day is always the third Sunday in June.
Father's Day honours the role of dads and men who serve in father-like roles in the lives of others.
Father's Day originated in the United States in 1909 when a woman named Sonora Dodd came up with the idea. Mrs. Dodd's father, William Jackson Smart, had raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth. While listening to a Mother's Day sermon at a church near her family's home in eastern Washington State, Mrs. Dodd thought about the sacrifices her father had made for his children and the fine job he had done in raising them. Because her father had been born in June, she decided to encourage the churches in her area to honor fathers in June. Through her efforts, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington, in June 1910.
National Aboriginal Day
Date:
June 21
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
National Aboriginal Day is celebrated on June 21st. It is a statutory holiday in the Northwest Territories.
National Aboriginal Day is a chance for Canadians to celebrate the rich contributions Aboriginal peoples have made to Canada.
In co-operation with national Aboriginal organizations, the Government of Canada chose June 21st for National Aboriginal day because it is also the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For generations, many Aboriginal peoples have celebrated their culture and heritage on or near this day.
Today, Canada is proud to recognize the unique achievements of Aboriginal peoples - in fields as diverse as agriculture and the environment to nation building and the arts, with a national celebration. National Aboriginal Day events are organized locally and regionally.
Halloween
Date:
October 31
Type of Occasion:
Cultural celebration
Halloween is celebrated on October 31st in Canada.
Halloween is a favourite family celebration – a time for traditions such as dressing in costumes, trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood, and carving pumpkins. Children dress up in funny or scary costumes and go "trick or treating", and neighbors are expected to respond by giving them small treats. Adults may also dress in costume for Halloween parties.
Halloween (the evening before All Saints or All Hallows Day) is a secular celebration based on ancient Druid customs dating back to 700 B.C. The Druids, a Celtic religious order in ancient Britain, Ireland and France, believed that the souls of the dead returned to mingle with the living on "hallowed eve," October 31. Each year on that night, the Druids would build bonfires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals, and individuals would dress in costumes to disguise themselves from these spirits.