Remembrance Day, remembering those who were killed in military service, is observed throughout Canada each year on November 11. Remembrance Day has it origins in the profound sense of loss after the FIRST WORLD WAR, in which some 60 000 Canadians were killed.

Empire Day, observed annually on the school day preceding the May 24 holiday for Queen Victoria's birthday, was the most important patriotic rite for children in English-speaking Canada during the half century following its first observance 23 May 1899.

The celebration was brought to Nova Scotia in the 1750s and the citizens of Halifax commemorated the end of the SEVEN YEARS' WAR (1763) with a day of Thanksgiving. Loyalists brought the celebration to other parts of the country.

Labour Day, honouring organized labour, is a legal holiday observed throughout Canada on the first Monday in September. The contribution of organized labour to Canadian society has been recognized since 1872, when parades and rallies were held in Ottawa and Toronto.

Passover is held from the 15th to the 21st day of the seventh month of the Hebrew year. It begins at sundown on the day before the first full day specified for the holiday.

The origins of Groundhog Day lie in medieval Europe, where the day was known as Candlemas Day, a Christian festival named for the custom of lighting candles on that day. There were sayings that carried the observations of the time of year in general.

National Aboriginal Day, June 21, is an official day of celebration to recognize and honour the valuable contributions to Canadian society by Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Discovery Day is a statutory holiday in Yukon commemorating the discovery of gold that set off the KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH and led to the formation of the territory.

Christmas is celebrated in various ways in contemporary Canada. In particular, it draws form the French, British and American traditions. Since the beginning of the 20th century, it had become the biggest annual celebration and had begun to take on the form that we recognize today.

Provincial and territorial holidays are holidays the provincial and territorial governments recognize in addition to the NATIONAL HOLIDAYS established by federal legislation.

December 26, the day after Christmas, is the Feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It is also known as Boxing Day, a secular holiday celebrated in parts of the Commonwealth, including Canada.

It marks the first day of the New Year in the Chinese calendar, which predates the Gregorian calendar. It is a lunisolar calendar, based on the astronomical observations of the sun's longitude and the phases of the moon.

There is considerable debate about the origins of Halloween. Many argue that the celebration originated partly in Christianity, specifically All Saints' Day, the feast day that honours all the saints of the church.

Commemoration Day, better known as Memorial Day, is a statutory holiday observed on July 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador (seePROVINCIAL AND TERRITORIAL HOLIDAYS).

The Civic Holiday is a holiday observed in most provinces and territories on the first Monday of August.

Kwanzaa is an African-American cultural holiday that has been adopted around the world including in Canada to celebrate African family, community and culture.

Chanukah (also Hanukkah, Chanukkah, Chanuka, and the Festival of Lights) is the Hebrew word for dedication.

In a time when the news of labour "strife" is dominated by disputes between millionaire athletes and billionaire owners, history provides a useful perspective on a time when working people had to fight to work less than 12 hours a day.

On December 25, 1943, the acrid smell of cordite hung over the rubble barricades of Ortona, Italy, where Canadians and Germans were engaged in grim hand-to-hand combat.

Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion, which is marked on Good Friday. Canadians commonly refer to Easter as the period from Good Friday through Easter Monday.

Easter, Lent, the Passion. The term 'Easter music' is used to describe all music specific to the season beginning with Ash Wednesday, through Holy Week and ending with the Ascension.

It has become common knowledge that the first Thanksgiving in North America was held by Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew in the eastern Arctic in 1578. There are those—mainly Americans upset by the thought of having their holiday co-opted—who argue that it wasn’t a “real” Thanksgiving.

These prominent Canadians have more in common than a place in Canadian history. They, like nearly four million Canadians, are of Irish heritage. Perhaps the luck o' the Irish contributed to their success!

The derivation of the 3 Christian holidays needs no explanation. New Year's Day, January 1, marks the beginning of the new year.

Victoria Day is a statutory holiday remembered informally as "the twenty-fourth of May,” or “May Two-Four.” Originally a celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday, the holiday now marks Queen Elizabeth II's birthday as well. Victoria Day was established as a holiday in the Province of Canada in 1845 and as a national holiday in 1901. It is observed on the first Monday before 25 May.