Civic Holiday
Date:
First Monday in August
Type of Occasion:
Cultural Holiday
In Canada, the first Monday in August is generally a holiday but it is known by different names in different areas.
The idea of a holiday in the middle of summer in Toronto dates back to 1869. This day was created in 1875 and the first Monday in August became the August Civic Holiday.
Civic Day (Known as Simcoe Day in some Ontario locations) is in celebration of John Graves Simcoe, who was appointed the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada in 1791. He was a British soldier during the American Revolutionary War and was appointed in 1777 to lead the Queen's Rangers regiment. In 1781 he returned to Britain, where he was later elected to the House of Commons. He came to Canada in 1792 after his appointment. He first established his capital at Newark but, due to the threat of invasion by Americans, moved it to Toronto, which he named York. He convened the first Legislative Assembly as well as abolished slavery. In Toronto, the day was officially named after him in 1968.
Remembrance Day
Date:
11 November
Type of Occasion:
National commemorative celebration
Remembrance Day commemorates Canadians who died in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.
The first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth. Originally called Armistice Day, it commemorated the end of the First World War, "the War to end all Wars", on Monday, November 11, 1918 at 11:00 AM (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month).
From 1923 to 1931, Armistice Day was held on the Monday of the week in which November 11 fell. In 1931, a bill was introduced to hold Armistice Day on a fixed day - November 11. During the bill's introduction, it was decided the word "Remembrance" would be used instead of "Armistice". The bill passed and Remembrance Day was conducted on November 11, 1931.
In Britain, Canada and much of the Commonwealth, and in France, Belgium and other parts of Europe, it is observed with a two minute silence at 11:00 AM.
The poppy is the symbol that we use to show we remember those who were killed in the wars and in peacekeeping operations that Canada has been involved in. Replica poppies are sold by the Royal Canadian Legion to raise money for needy veterans.
The tradition of wearing poppies in honor of Canada's war dead takes its origin from the poem "In Flanders Fields," written in 1915 by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. John McCrae was a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. His poem reflects what he witnessed while working from a dressing station on the bank of the Yser Canal.