Post Tagged with "Canada"

A Wedding on Yukon Time

Northern Canada is its own special place. It is our true north, strong and free. You NEED to be strong to bear the temperature (I, personally, have been in a wind chill of -35 Celsius). And the people there are definitely free. They seem free from those big city pressures. A main one being, that sense of urgency, that insistence on being punctual. In the Yukon, they have their own time: they have “Yukon Time”. Things will get done when they get done.

I was up in the Yukon this past week for my big sister’s wedding. She has lived up North for several years now, and it was my third winter visit. Her wedding, to the shock of some of my friends here in Vancouver, did, indeed, include a traditional white dress and me in a short-skirted bridesmaid dress with heels. I do not, though, ever again recommend walking in snow in open-toe shoes- brrrrrrr! Only in the Yukon will one have to clean the snow out of the bride’s shoes before she can walk down the aisle.

The wedding did have typical North American traditions mixed in: bridesmaids in matching dresses, the father walks the bride down the aisle, vows are said, rings are exchanged, a first dance for the newly wed couple. Yet, it also had that fabulous air of relaxation that simply comes with everything in the Yukon. Guests trickled in at their leisure, many popping in to the special back room where the bride “hid” before her grand entrance to walk down the aisle. Photos and conversations with the bride before her entrance are typically unheard of! Our flower girl (daughter to the bride and groom) was one of the last to arrive with an aunt, pushing the ceremony start time well back, as it could not go on without her. She, being just three years old, also spent much of the ceremony dancing around, yelling, and trying to play with her mother’s dress.  The wedding ceremony was performed by the groom’s long term friend, who also happened to make the cake, who also happened to be their elected government official- as is the case in all good small towns. And, finally, my sister managed to avoid having a slew of toasts and mushy love stories dedicated to the happy couple. Instead, people mingled and kids played under tables.

I will admit though, I could have done with a little less Yukon experience when, at the end of the night, I had to help push our taxi cab, as it was stuck on the snow and ice of the driveway.

5 interesting things about Canada

1. The country was founded, in a large part, by a single company. The Hudson’s Bay Company started in 1670 as a fur trading business. It sent explorers and trappers across the land and settlers followed. They are responsible for starting settlements and ports, discovering water ways, and starting relations with the First Nations groups. The company still exists today as a retail store.

 

2. Our name “Canada” was established through miscommunication. “Kanada” was an aboriginal word for “village”. The Europeans mistook it to mean the entire nation.

 

3. Hockey is only one of our National Sports and was not until 1994. Popular opinion once named Lacrosse the national sport, in 1864, but nowadays, even Canadians need to be reminded of it.  Lacrosse is played on a field. Players each have a stick with a net on one end to catch and throw the ball.

 

4. Canada is still part of the British Commonwealth. Our Queen is the Queen of England. The position is a figurehead. While our laws and bills are passed in Parliament, everything must then be signed by the Queen’s appointed Governor General.

 

5. During the War of 1812 with our neighbours to the south, Canadian troops burned down the White House. Sorry!

 

Read more

The Remembrance Poppy

5 interesting facts about Kyrgyzstan

5 interesting facts about Costa Rica

Picture Postcards: St. Jacobs, Ontario, Canada

This week’s photo was contributed by Anna on Pocketcultures who has been photographing a town called St. Jacobs which has a Mennonite history. Thanks Anna!

Read more:
Picture Postcards: Canadians celebrating Canada Day
It’s Not Summer ‘Till You Camp
How to Make Things Happen in Canada

A Canadian Thanksgiving: Yes, it’s our own holiday

Thanksgiving. The major Fall holiday in North America. Instantly, you may picture a feast of food, pilgrims in black hats, and, in recent years, a start to the Christmas shopping mania. Nope. Sorry, that’s our neighbours to south: that’s American Thanksgiving. I’m here to talk about Canadian Thanksgiving. To be honest, I barely even know what a pilgrim is.

Canadian Thanksgiving, firstly, happens over a month earlier, in October. It is held the second Monday in October each year, so the exact date changes. This Thanksgiving will be held on October 10, 2011. Why the date difference between America and Canada? Well, Thanksgiving has very pagan roots. The founders of Canada were settlers who lived off of the land. The fall is the time for harvest. The farms are ripe with food and everything must be picked before the first frost comes and ruins the crops. This time of year would be celebrated with a huge feast of all the freshly picked food. Thus, the holiday is timed around the harvest itself, and being north of America, Canada has shorter summer seasons and experiences its harvest earlier in the year.

(more…)

Picture Postcards: Canadians celebrating Canada day

Thanks to Xiaozhuli for sharing this photo of Canadians celebrating Canada Day in Ottowa.

Next week we have a new photo theme – graffiti and street art. If you have a photo to share please add it to our photo group on Flickr. We’ll post our favourites here on Picture Postcards.

(more…)

It’s Not Summer Till You Camp

Canada is the second largest country in the world, but there’s a relatively small population.  What does this mean? A whole lot of empty space to go camping!  Many of us do not consider it summer until we have been surrounded by trees, we smell like smoke, and we have eaten a s’more -or two.

The vast space, wilderness, and endless forests are definitely taken for granted here in Western Canada.  I would recommend trying a night camping on a different continent, so one can come home and truly know what it means to be Canadian. (more…)