Celebrating Canada

"This volume's great achievement lies in its breadth. It explores not one Canada, but many. The solitudes of language, ethnicity, region, and religion meet, mix, clash, and come together in ways expected and unexpected. Matthew Hayday, Raymond Blake, and the book's contributors have embarked on a fascinating study, full of the lives Canadians and their Canadas have led and lead still." -- Norman Hillmer, Chancellor's Professor of History and International Affairs, Carleton University

In Celebrating Canada, Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake situate Canada in an international context as they examine the history and evolution of our national andprovincial holidays and annual celebrations.

Holidays are a key to helping us understand the transformation of national, regional, community and ethnic identities. In Celebrating Canada, Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake situate Canada in an international context as they examine the history and evolution of our national andprovincial holidays and annual celebrations.

The contributorstothis volume examine such holidays as Dominion Day, Victoria Day, Quebec’sFêteNationaleand CanadianThanksgiving, among many others. They also examine how Canadians celebrate the national days ofothercountries (like the Fourth of July) and how Dominion Day was observed in the United Kingdom. Drawing heavily on primary source research, and theories of nationalism, identities and invented traditions, theessaysinthiscollectiondeepen our understanding of how these holidays have influenced the evolutionof Canadian identities.