News Releases

138 Ways to Celebrate Canada Day

June 29, 2005

Every July 1, Canadians across the country come together to celebrate Canada's birthday, yet how many know the origin of Canada Day or how old Canada will be this year?

To answer the first question - July 1 was originally known as Dominion Day, but the holiday was changed in 1982 to coincide with the signing of Canada's constitution. A recent Decima survey sought to answer the second question by asking Canadians how old Canada would be this year. The survey concluded that most Canadians (86%) are unaware that Canada would be turning 138 years-young this year.

Celebrating a country's birthday is as important as remembering the birthdays of all your friends and loved ones. Canada Post's online Never-Forget-a-Birthday Alert service can help you to remember every important birthday, including Canada's. Register your friends and family's birthdays online at www.canadapost.ca/birthday.

This year, to celebrate and commemorate Canada's 138^th birthday, Canada Post has put together a list of 138 fun, educational, and uniquely Canadian activities that can make the day - and the celebration - special. The activities may differ from one province to another, or one neighbourhood to the next, but each celebration is a tribute to Canada. Pick one or two to show your pride and, have a Happy Canada

138 Ways...

• Spend the day with a Veteran.
• Send complementary "Happy Birthday Canada" postcards, available at Canada Post outlets, to all your friends and family.
• Send a care package of "made in Canada" treats to expats.
• Attend a Canadian musician's concert.
• Attend or volunteer at a local Citizenship ceremony.
• Wear something red or white... or red and white.
• Read a book by a Canadian author.
• Make a list of all the reasons you're proud to be Canadian.
• Decorate your house or office with red and white balloons.
• Thank a public servant - police officer, government worker or politician for giving their time and resources to serve our country.
• Sing "O Canada" at the top of your lungs.
• Visit the Tomb of Unknown Soldier on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
• Take part in, or help out at, the Canada Day festivities in your community or town.
• Host a backyard party and serve only Canadian cuisine - bison, elk, poutine, Canadian beer, etc.
• Make a cake that resembles the flag to share with family and friends.
• Enjoy a pancake breakfast with real maple syrup and Canadian bacon.
• Throw a Canada Day BBQ for family and friends.
• Cut a maple leaf pattern into your front lawn.
• Host a potluck where guests are asked to bring a "typically Canadian" dish.
• Visit a region in Canada very different from where you live.
• Send the Prime Minister, your local MP or MPP a complimentary "Happy Birthday Canada" postcard available at Canada Post outlets telling him why you love Canada.
• Attend a local Canada Day parade.
• Invite everyone on your block or in your office to do one nice thing for a fellow Canadian, e.g. read to a senior citizen, feed the homeless, etc.
• Host a street hockey tournament in your neighbourhood.
• Play a Canadian version of a board game.
• Create a compilation CD, DVD or MP3 playlist of Canadian music.
• Organize a Canada Day golf tournament and give gifts such as flags, t-shirts, golf towels or CDs by Canadian, Francophone or Aboriginal artists.
• Invite seniors from your community to share their stories with children. It is a great opportunity for youth to learn about their community's history and the transformation Canada has seen throughout the years.
• Send a "Happy Birthday Canada" postcard (ask for one at your local post office) to a Canadian abroad.
• Host an ice cream social for your family and friends.
• Follow historical landmark signs on the highway. There are many local places rich with our nation's heritage. Arrange for a tour or be host to your own voyage.
• Who doesn't like fireworks? Head out to a local park or community centre to marvel at some pyrotechnics.
• Make a donation to your favourite Canadian charity.
• Speak in both official languages for the day.
• See a Canadian film.
• Visit one of Canada's many museums.
• Head out to a local field, diamond, arena or rink to support your local sports teams.
• Celebrate Canada's multiculturalism! Host a picnic and invite your friends to bring their own unique heritage dish.
• Go to a play by a Canadian playwright or featuring Canadian actors.
• Organize a parade for the children in your neighbourhood. Children can wave flags, wear red and white and decorate their bicycles.
• Enjoy the great outdoors! Organize a camping trip for your friends and family.
• Proudly display the Canadian Flag at your home.
• Wear a maple leaf lapel pin.
• Plant a Maple Tree.
• Travel to and celebrate Canada Day at a Canadian Embassy abroad.
• Get wet and wild on a water rafting trip down the Ottawa River.
• Line your fence, balcony or walkway with red and white balloons.
• Organize a Canada Day garage sale with your neighbours and donate the profits to charity.
• Coordinate community beautification activities such as planting flowers and picking up litter in local parks.
• Invite a First Nation Elder or chief to share their culture and language with a group you belong to.
• Take a hike... in one of Canada's scenic national parks or the Trans Canada Trail.
• Paint a Maple Leaf on your face.
• Start your Canada Day off with a "Double-Double".
• Bake and decorate maple leaf-shaped cookies to share.
• Change your cellular phone's ring tone to play "O Canada".
• Quilt a cozy Canadian blanket.
• Cool off with maple syrup snow cones.
• Organize or participate in a local Canada Day fun run.
• Celebrate the Canadian prairies with your own rodeo BBQ.
• Visit an amusement park with your friends and family.
• Portage a national park.
• Visit Canada's own "Wonder of the World" - Niagara Falls.
• Enjoy a back bacon sandwich.
• Cool off at an indoor rink with a quick skate or a game of hockey.
• Use sidewalk chalk to decorate the sidewalks and streets in your neighbourhood with a Canada Day message.
• Collect pictures from your Canada Day adventures and document it with a special Canada Day scrapbook.
• Knit a Red and White tuque.
• Change your screensaver to something Canadian.
• Throw on your comfiest shoes and head out to rediscover your own home town.
• Make a red and white kite to fly at a local park.
• Indulge yourself in some homemade maple fudge.
• Celebrate the East Coast with your very own lobster fest.
• Spend some quality time relaxing at a cottage.
• Create your own Canada Day time capsule to document what our nation was like in 2005.
• Create an outdoor theatre in your own back yard.
• Ride the rails on a cross country excursion.
• Showcase the talent of local children with a special Canada Day play or performance.
• Share the story of our country with a non-Canadian.
• Meet some friends for a Canada Day tailgate party.
• Send a Canada Day surprise to your child's summer camp.
• Invite your friends and family to celebrate with a bonfire on the beach complete with toasted marshmallows.
• Enjoy a slice of Canadian pizza with extra bacon.
• Celebrate with wine tasting at a Canadian Winery or host your own.
• Practice your best loon call.
• Dress up your pet for the occasion.
• Paint your toenails red and white.
• Create red and white flower arrangements for your home or patio.
• Dye your hair red.
• Add red food colouring to all beverages consumed during the day.
• Make red Jell-O and put white mini marshmallows on it.
• Take 100 steps for every year.
• Hit the beach in a red bathing suit.
• Cruise the great lakes.
• Learn something new at a museum.
• Sculpt your favourite Canadian Landmarks out of sand at a local beach.
• Go fishing!
• Create a Canada Day word search or crossword puzzle for your friends and family to try.
• Sack out and celebrate the Yukon with a potato sack race.
• Take the plunge! View the great Canadian landscape as you parachute from thousands of feet above.
• Wear moose antlers on your head for the day.
• Get a temporary Canada flag tattoo for your arm.
• Host a 138 minute dance-a-thon for charity.
• Paint your fence red and white.
• Send a letter to the United Nations explaining why Canada is the greatest country in which to live.
• Write a song about how much you love Canada.
• Call all your Canadian friends and family living abroad to wish them a Happy Canada Day.
• Take a trip south of the border and hand out immigration forms.
• Change the voice message greeting on your phone to "I'm sorry I can't take your call right now, I'm out celebrating Canada Day."
• Take out a full-page ad in your local newspaper wishing your community a happy Canada Day.
• Enjoy a day of whale-watching on either coast.
• Place a stencil of a maple leaf on your body, apply sunscreen and head off for some fun in the sun.
• Create a Great Canadian Cookbook with recipes from your friends and family.
• Spend some quality time with the animals at a local zoo.
• Change the cursor on your computer to red Maple Leaf.
• Head Up, Up and Away on a hot air balloon ride.
• Clown around! Dress up as a Canadian Clown and entertain the children in your neighbourhood.
• Change your name for the day to that of your favourite Canadian actor or singer.
• Place 138 mini Canadian flags on your front lawn.
• Have a 138 water balloon salute.
• Host the "looniest Canadian Neighbourhood talent show."
• Rediscover your family tree.
• Toss a "Why I'm proud to be Canadian" message in a bottle out to sea.
• Throw a 'Maple Syrup cook-off' for your community and see how many tasty original recipes require or are enhanced by maple syrup.
• Hug a Maple tree... or someone named Maple.
• Paint your own great Canadian landscape.
• Tell a Canadian joke, such as: How does Wayne Gretzky stay cool? He sits beside his fans… How do you stop bacon from curling in the pan? You take away its broom… What's the difference between a beaver and a chain saw? About 80 trees an hour… If Mounties always get their man, what do postmen always get? Their mail…
• Wear a tuque instead of your favourite summer cap.
• Read a Superman comic.
• Send a care package to Canada Peacekeepers overseas.
• Attend a performance of Cirque du Soleil.
• Set up a "Honk if you love Canada" sign on your front lawn.
• Donate 138 loonies to your favourite Canadian charity.
• Fill the tank and hit the road on a 138 km road trip.
• Welcome a pet from the local animal shelter into your Canadian family.
• Go snowshoeing at the mall.
• Request your local radio stations to play songs by Canadian artists.
• Host your own Canadian Idol - showcasing the unknown talents of the people in your community.
• Register yourself for Canada Day email reminders with Canada Post's Never-Forget-A-Birthday alert.

FINALLY... Write a list of 139 ways to celebrate Canada Day next year!