Here's a photo I stole showing some wacky Canadian and his friends celebrating Canada Day.

Canada is a country of many holidays and national events. We're a hard-working people, so we greatly value and enjoy any days off we can get.

Canada is a Christian country so we observe all the main Christian holidays (Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, etc) in the tradition western fashion. We also have a handful of distinctly Canadian holidays that are exclusive to our country.

A veteran lays a wreath for Remembrance Day.

Thanksgiving is an Autumn holiday celebrated by the United States and Canada. It commemorates the arrival of the first colonists to North America and the bounty of the Autumn season. In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated in late November, but most of Canada's Autumn bounty is long dead by then, so we celebrate it on the second Monday of October. Canadian Thanksgiving is a fairly minor holiday compared to American Thanksgiving, and not one that is overly hyped by the media. Most families will just enjoy the day off work / school, and have a big turkey dinner in the evening. Thanksgiving is regarded as one of the big "family days" of the year, where distant family members who you rarely see will come to your house for an awkward meal.

Remembrance Day is observed on November 11th, which was the day World War I formally ended. Remembrance Day is a memorial holiday when Canadians remember the horrors of war, and honor the veterans who fought to defend Canada's freedom. The holiday is largely tailored to recognize World War II veterans, although more recent conflicts are often given some lip service as well.

On the weeks leading up to November 11th Canadians all over the country wear special plastic Remembrance Day poppies on their shirts. The poppy is a symbol of remembrance, and alludes to the famous Canadian Poem
In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae. Flander's Fields is a powerful poem that describes the tragedy of war, and the importance of remembering those who died on the battlefield. Most Canadian school children will have to recite the poem at one time or another; I still have it memorized from when I had to recite it in 5th grade.

As you can see, Boxing Day is so commercially attractive many stores now stretch it out into an entire WEEK of sales.

Remembrance Day is not a holiday that is exactly "celebrated." There are usually special Remembrance Day observances however, the main highlight usually being a wreath-laying ceremony at a war monument by the mayor, premier, or some other high-ranking government official.

On a lighter note we have Boxing Day, which is a Commonwealth holiday celebrated on December 26th, the day after Christmas. The true origins of this holiday are very sketchy and widely debated, but most agree it originally had something to do with rich people's discarded Christmas boxes. Today, Boxing day is the biggest shopping day of the year. Stores dramatically slash their prices in an attempt to rid themselves of their excess Christmas inventory. Boxing Day deals are always amazing, and people will often line up for miles in front of electronics stores in an attempt to score some discount merchandise. Boxing Day is also a great day to return the all Christmas presents you don't like.

Queen Victoria would probably not be amused at the lack of attention her day gets.

Victoria Day is the day in which Canadians are supposed to be celebrating Queen Elizabeth's birthday. As the name suggests, the holiday was originally designed to honor Queen Victoria, but since her death the day has been used to celebrate every monarch's birthday as well (apparently no one thought to change the name). Queen Elizabeth's real birthday is on April 21, but Victoria Day is celebrated on May 24th, unless the 24th is on a weekend or in the middle of the week, in which case it's celebrated on the closest Friday or Monday. Unless you are a devout monarchist, Victoria Day is not much of a big deal, and I don't think most Canadians are even aware what the holiday is supposed to be about. Most people just treat it as another day off work.

Some people simply refer to Victoria Day as the "2-4 long weekend," which is a pun, because not only is 24 the date of the holiday, it's also the number of beer cans you buy in a large crate at the liquor store. Since most people get drunk on the long weekend, this is considered very witty by Canadian standards.

Commonwealth Day, formally "Empire Day" is a day in March in which we are supposed to celebrate the wonders of that extremely relevant organization, the British Commonwealth. No one gets Commonwealth Day off however, so the holiday is largely ignored.

Canada Day is the Canadian equivalent of the Fourth of July. It celebrates the 1867 creation of Canada, and until 1981 was known as " Dominion Day," after Canada's official name, which is "the Dominion of Canada". Celebrated on July 1st, Canada Day is a day when Canadians have picnics, go to barbecues, and watch fireworks. There are always Canada flags aplenty, and many parks will hold special Canada Day celebrations. The holiday has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially among young Canadians who are eager to celebrate their identity.

Most Provinces have their own day as well (Alberta Day, BC Day, etc), but these are rarely celebrated.