Holiday Differences
We just had 2 holidays that were different in their celebrations from what I'm used to in the US. For Halloween, lots of people decide to shoot off fireworks -- not organized professional displays, just people messing around. This leads to me overhearing several stories about "Johnny was shooting off firecrackers and one accidentally hit him in the face. Now his nose is all black." Yet somehow multiple similar stories do not deter this activity. (Nor on the US 4th of July.)
The bigger difference is Veterans'/Remembrance day. Starting at the last Friday of October, the veterans gave out a little fake red poppy flower to be pinned on your lapel whenever you give them a donation. It is a reminder of the blood-red poppy flowers that appeared on the battlefields of WWI. So by Veterans' day, almost everyone in Canada (quite literally) is wearing one. I must say that it really does make me take note of the day more than I had any previous year. I wonder about if I had grown up with this tradition and seen them every year if it would really make me think about the day and all the people that gave their lives defending freedom. (Yes, even a pacifist can appreciate that.)
posted by Sean @ 9:56 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
The use of the poppy for Rememberance Day also comes in part from the poem "In Flanders Fields" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields).
Both of my grandfathers served in the Candian Forces during World War II, and every Rememberance Day I'm thankful that they both came home safe and sound. This was the first Rememberance Day in nearly a decade where I didn't participate in a ceremony somewhere.
One other thing I neglected to mention: fireworks on Halloween seems to be a west coast thing. I don't recall ever seeing anyone fire off any fireworks on Halloween back in Ontario (they're usually somewhat hard to get hold of outside Victoria Day and Canada Day).
Interesting to know that the fireworks thing is not all of Canada. I guess I got that impression when it was mentioned in the international student newsletter that I've been subscribed to (though it did not refer to all of Canada or any particular location).
I'll hold off my "Canada has a military?" comment out of respect for the holiday. Indeed even a pacifist can appreciate the gift of veterans.
You neglected to mention the Thanksgiving holiday, which is different in that it happened quite a while back in Canada and hasn't yet occurred in the US. Any other Thanksgiving difference, other than the date?
Oh boy Ben! Yaztromo is going to beat you up for saying that! Well, he would if he wasn't so dang polite.
I just left out Thanksgiving because I had discussed it before. But I guess I didn't say anything more than the date. The only other differences are that I didn't notice any pilgrims in decorations and the general level of decorations is much lower. Perhaps this is because the manufacturers haven't made them yet. The food and the general idea is all the same though.
Also, there's no day after Thanksgiving sale because it's on a Monday and you only get the Monday off of work. Though I have heard that boxing day is a really big deal here with all of the sales and such. I'm just used to the extent of boxing day being the little words "boxing day" on the calendar. The problem with boxing day sales is that Christmas is over!
Since we have references to Canada Day and Thanksgiving, I just thought I'd mention that Canada Day is July 1st. And Canadian Thanksgiving is of course in October. Both of these were established years after the US versions of the holidays, yet they barely preempt the US versions during the year. Coincidence?
Yeah... I don't know about the fireworks thing either. That was new to me!
Veterans in the US also sale red poppies on Veteran's Day, at least in the northern states.
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