An Excellent Canadian Holiday, Eh?

The 24th of May weekend has officially begun!  For those of you who are not Canadian, let me explain why this is such an important holiday to us.

For loyalists, it is a grand celebration of the birth of Queen Victoria on May 24, 1819. ~

If you are in the Province of Quebec, you can ignore the queen and celebrate Patriot's Day.

It doesn't really matter, because the real importance of this date is that we have collectively decided that this weekend is the beginning of the Canadian summer.  We are not discouraged by the fact that 90% of the time it is brutally cold and rainy and may even snow on this weekend.  This is the weekend we have determined we are to open our cottages, go camping, plant our veggie gardens and wear shorts.

Any Canadian under the age of thirty will refer to this weekend as the May Two Four weekend.  That's slang for 24 beer, and on this weekend you are to consume large quantities of beer while gathered around an enormous fire.  The fire, of course, is to ward off the frostbite.

While the Americans buy their beer in six packs ~

And the British buy it in pints ~

We buy ours in cases of 24.  I guess we're just better beer drinkers!  Americans know this and when they send their ambassador to meet our Prime Minister , he brings a case of Two Four. ~

He brought two twelves AND the wrong kind.  You can tell by the look on our Prime Minister's face but he's too polite to say so.  Once they're halfway through this case, it will be more about not falling in the bonfire than taste anyway.

By Monday night we will drag our frozen and hung over bodies to the back yard or public parks and let off lots of these. ~

Next to the male pyromaniac gene is the male love of explosions gene!  

Canadian dogs refer to this as the "Night Of Horrors" and cower under beds until it is over! ~

So, the highlights of this cultural treatise are - bring 24 beer, firewood, fireworks and shorts when travelling in Canada on the 24th of May.   

Happy Victoria Day everyone!