Canada Day: July 1^st

Canada Day is a holiday celebrating the anniversary of the unification of three British colonies (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada) into a single country within the British Empire on July 1, 1867. The name Canada comes from an American Indian language, Iroquois, in which the word ‘kanata’ means "village" or "settlement".

In 1931 Canada gained full independence in most matters, but Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As parts of Canada used to be a French colony in the 18^th century, about 22% of the population are French Canadians and the country is officially bilingual at the federal level. With immigrants arriving from many countries, it’s one of the world’s most multicultural nations.

The National Flag of Canada is also known as the Maple Leaf and it was adopted in 1965 to replace the British Union Jack. The maple leaf has been used as a Canadian symbol since the 1700s. The Sugar maple tree is tapped for sap to produce the world-famous maple syrup. It takes about 40 litres of sap to make 1 litre of syrup.

Canada is the world’s second-largest country after Russia by total area, including its waters. By land area alone Canada ranks fourth after Russia, China and the USA. Canada has around 31,700 large lakes, more than any other country, containing much of the world’s fresh water.

On Canada Day most communities across the country celebrate with outdoor events, such as parades, carnivals, festivals, barbecues, air and maritime shows, fireworks, and free concerts. People wear pins or T-shirts with a maple leaf pattern but some go as far as dying their hair red and white and wear the Canadian flag around their shoulders – think of devoted supporters at a Canadian ice hockey match. The capital, Ottawa throws a spectacular event on the grounds of Parliament House, with activities all day long.

Depending on which part of Canada you’re in, you can enjoy various types of party food: from the usual party favourites, like hot dogs, hamburgers and Canadian flag cupcakes to more surprising things, such as Baklavas and lobster rolls or fried clams. Local specialties include cupcakes decorated to look like beavers – another national symbol of Canada – and beavertails, a pastry made from deep fried bread dough with cinnamon and chili.

anniversary – évforduló
colony – gyarmat
British Empire – Brit Birodalom
settlement – település
full independence – teljes függetlenség
head of state – államfő
federal parliamentary democracy – szövetségi parlamentáris demokrácia
Commonwealth of Nations – Brit Nemzetközösség
population – népesség
bilingual – kétnyelvű
immigrant – bevándorló
flag – zászló
Maple Leaf – juharlevél
Union Jack – a brit zászló beceneve
sap – nedv (fáé)
maple syrup – juharszirup
to rank – besorolni, sorban következni
fresh water – édesvíz
community – közösség
outdoor event – szabadtéri esemény
parade – felvonulás, szemle
air and maritime show – légi- és víziparádé
pin – kitűző
pattern – minta
to dye – megfesteni (hajat, ruhát)
supporter – szurkoló
capital – főváros
the grounds – valaminek a területe
depending on – attól függően, hogy
lobster roll – homáros szendvics
fried clam – rántott kagyló
local – helyi
beaver – hód
beavertail – hódfarok
pastry – sütemény, tészta
bread dough – kenyértészta

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2021 februári szám

Címke: english culture

Július elseje: Kanada nemzeti ünnepe