Happy Birthday Canada

It's Canada Day today, the day that the nation celebrates its birthday. Everybody gets a day off, and there are parades, fireworks and beer, although not necessarily in that order; indeed, if the beer comes first then the other two may not materialise at all or, if they do, the results may well be interesting and possibly life threatening to boot.

I've been celebrating by being even more lazy than usual, and I've been embracing my Canadian-ness by watching the all-day Corner Gas marathon on the Comedy Channel, although I will probably peel myself off the couch to go and see the fireworks in town this evening; I hope that the beer hasn't come first in this instance.

Most people here are surprised when I explain that there is no equivalent of a 'national day' in the UK, and that surprise turns to disbelief when I regale them with stories of Brits who are banned from flying the Cross of St George or the Union Jack for fear of offending immigrants or because they might constitute a health hazard. That would simply never happen here; Canadian flags are proudly flown all year round - gladly without the gung-ho approach that you so often see in the States - and the national anthem is sung every morning in the nation's schools.

Despite what I said recently about Canada being a 'collection of thirteen independent nations', the notion of being Canadian still binds its population together - well, maybe not in Quebec - with a closeness that is fast disappearing in the UK, and that's one of the reasons that I like living in Canada. Patriotism is not a dirty word here, so happy Canada Day to you all, and to all a good night!