Victoria Day -The Highlights of Victoria Day Celebrations in Canada

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday before or on 24 May, in honor of both Queen Victoria’s birthday as well as the current reigning Canadian sovereign’s official birthday. The Sovereign's birthday has been celebrated in Canada since the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). The day was declared a holiday by the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845.

The celebration of Victoria Day is always on the Monday preceding May 25.

However, the Victoria Day is celebrated on May 25^th in case May 24^th is on a Sunday. Thus, the holiday is part of a long weekend, which is commonly referred to as the Victoria Day Weekend, the May Long Weekend, the May Long weekend or the May 24^th weekend (even though the day does not necessarily fall on May 24^th). The day is also called the May Two-Four since a case of 24 beers is called a "two-four" there and many of these are consumed over the holidays.

The Royal Union Flag must be flown from sunrise to sunset at all federal buildings including airports, military bases, and other properties owned by the Crown across the country on this day. There will be parades and fireworks in several cities.

The Victoria Day weekend marks the unofficial start of the summer season and it is the first popular weekend for spring / summer travel. During this season, several summer businesses like parks, bicycle rentals, outdoor restaurants and city tour operators set in motion. People open up their cottages and plant gardens. There will be lots of crowd in resorts, hotels and other busy places.

Many Canadians spend the holidays by lifting a bottle or two or enjoying the waters, weather fishing, swimming or boating, and barbecuing or by having fun with the family. You can visit Sunshine Village at the Banff ski resort and watch the Slush Cup. The Slush cup is a snowboarding event, where the competitors head onto slushy ice conditions and compete for the top prize. It is an event attended by thousands of people each year and well worth seeing. You can also attend one of the many parades, or other shows held that week end all over Canada.

The Island Farms Victoria Day Parade of 2010 will be held on May 24^th in Downtown Victoria along Douglas Street. It is the largest parade event of Victoria with over 120,000 viewers watching the event in person or on television. There will be marching bands, floats, clowns etc. in the parade. It will be a great entertainer for all in the family. The parade starts from Mayfair Mall at 9:00am and moves along Douglas Street into the downtown core.