Holidays are a key to helping us understand the transformation of national, regional, community and ethnic identities. In Celebrating Canada, Matthew Hayday and Raymond Blake situate Canada in an international context as they examine the history and evolution of our national and provincial holidays and annual celebrations.

The contributors to this volume examine such holidays as Dominion Day, Victoria Day, Quebec's Fete Nationale and Canadian Thanksgiving, among many others. They also examine how Canadians celebrate the national days of other countries (like the Fourth of July) and how Dominion Day was observed in the United Kingdom. Drawing heavily on primary source research, and theories of nationalism, identities and invented traditions, the essays in this collection deepen our understanding of how these holidays have influenced the evolution of Canadian identities.

"This volume's great achievement lies in its breadth. It explores not one Canada, but many. The solitudes of language, ethnicity, region, and religion meet, mix, clash, and come together in ways expected and unexpected. Matthew Hayday, Raymond Blake, and the book's contributors have embarked on a fascinating study, full of the lives Canadians and their Canadas have led and lead still." -- Norman Hillmer, Chancellor's Professor of History and International Affairs, Carleton University

About the Author
Matthew Hayday is a professor in the Department of History at the University of Guelph. Raymond B. Blake is Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Regina.

Reviews

"[Celebrating Canada's] sixteen chapters provide much food for thought; the editors develop interesting themes, and the book as a whole offers a pretty thorough accounting of Canada's national days."

-- Richard White * The Canadian Historical Review Vol 99:2: June 2018 *

"This is a book that warrants careful (but cautious) reading for those interested in the crafting of the Canadian national identity."

-- Phillip Buckner, University of New Brunswick * British Journal of Canadian Studies, vol 30 no 2 *



Book Information
ISBN 9781442627130
Author Mathew Hayday
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint University of Toronto Press
Publisher University of Toronto Press
Weight(grams) 680g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 153mm * 27mm