((The videos and the pictures are filmed and taken by me, Jul 1, 2011))
“Happyyyyy Biiiirthday tooooo youuuuu
Happy Biiiirthayyyyy toooo Youuuuu
Happy Birthday dear Canadaaaaaaa
Happyyyy Biiiiiirthdayyyy toooo youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
"Yeahhhhhhh", shouted the people.
This was what Canadian citizens and I sang on Friday, July 1, to celebrate Canada Day. In the beginning, Canada wasn’t a united country. Instead, it was consisted of different and separated provinces. In 1867, all the provinces became united and formed a federal government. Since then, this day has been called Canada Day or Dominion Day and has been celebrated across Canada. I also went to downtown Mississauga, 45 km to Toronto, to show my sense of patriotism.
All people assembled in downtown near Square One, one of the very big North American malls. Some brought their own camping chair and sat on the lawn or on the brick floor. It was so crowded that some could not find any place to sit on and as a result, they just stayed in their own car.
All over the sitting area, the smell coming from the food stands stimulated taste buds. However, buying roasted corns, hamburgers, hot dogs and Greek foods was a torture because of long line-ups. In the middle of the designated area, a big screen decorated with a banner of “Canada Day” and a big fat beaver and a moose, symbols of Canada, was broadcasting the show in that open space.
Red is a national color for Canada and therefore, to show the sense of patriotism, people wear red T-shirts or dresses, a red hat with a maple leaf on it or they somehow show this color in their own outfit. Since my red T-shirt was not clean, I put two red rose pins on my hair with a red handcrafted Iranian backpack and a pair of red socks.
The celebration had begun at 1 pm and finished at 10:30 at night. First, a young girl sang some songs. Unfortunately, when I got there, she was singing and therefore, I missed knowing her name. Then, a Canadian actor and singer named Shawn Desman sang “Night like this.” You can listen to this song on his website.
I got this from here.
Finally, we watched fireworks which were enlightening clear Canadian sky. So, Happy Birthday Canada!
Comments
Excellent post! Thanks for sharing so much about Canada, Nafis! Great writing. It looks like you enjoyed your celebration.
On Canada Day, we always make a Canada cake. It never turns out very good, but we make it anyway. This year I forgot to buy the ingredients. We decided to go for a walk to look for Canada cookies at a coffee shop. We couldn't find any, so we settled for white chocolate chip. Then we found a drugstore that was open, so we bought a cake mix and some icing. After baking our Canada cake, we had a BBQ with the neighbourhood kids. My husband cooked hotdogs for everyone. Next we went to a water park so that our kids could cool off. Finally, after a pizza dinner we went to see the fireworks. My son hated the noise and begged us to take him home! We plugged his ears and watched anyway. :) It was a great Canada Day!
I just visited Quebec City - everything there seems to be in French, which gives the city a taste of France. And, I've already visited Ottawa, Toronto. Sorry I failed to meet you and Tara in Toronto, but it was a 2-day busy bus tour and I wasn't allowed to leave the group. I'll share some of the photos with you all, though.
Hello dear Nafis,
It's so interesting to know this "red day" in Canada. (My eyes now are seeing words in green color owing to the photogene. hahaa..) It reminds me of the Queen's day in Holland, which is usually celebrated on 30 April. You can see the sea of orange everywhere. That's really cool.
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