"Celebrate: to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival."In British Columbia we all celebrate B.C. Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving. But every family and community also has other celebrations, and these vary according to our cultures. Potlatches, Santa Claus Parades, Hanukkah, Chinese New Year, the Highland Games - all of these celebrations are part of the life of British Columbia's diverse cultures.
We have all helped celebrate the holidays, ceremonies and festivals of our own family's culture - and many of us have participated in the celebrations of other families and other communities. Celebrating can involve eating special foods (like Christmas pudding), dancing, singing, dressing up in special clothes (like Hallowe'en costumes), telling special stories, or being the audience for people performing these acts. The sharing of celebrations helps make Canada a multicultural country.
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| May Day, 1914. May Day is an English festival celebrating the beginning of summer D-04266 |
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Japanese Farmers' Association float in a May Day Parade, Mission, B.C., 193- B-01066 |
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| Traditional May Day celebrations, Grand Forks, B.C., 1958 C-01843 |
The larger cultural groups in Canada include people of African, Caribbean, English, First Nations, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, "East" Indian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Latin American, Polish, Portuguese, Scandinavian, Scottish, and Ukrainian descent.
All these groups - and others too - have contributed their holidays, traditions and celebrations to the cultural diversity of Canada and British Columbia. Join in the fun by taking a look at some of these different celebrations!
