The First Long Weekend of the Season

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This is Queen Victoria. We in Canada are remembering the Mother of Confederation and celebrating her birthday today with the day off, BBQs (grilling to y’all), 2-4′s (cases of beer) and sparklers.

I have a general idea, of what Victoria Day is - it's Queen Victoria’s birthday, yet it is never celebrated on the same day.

We, in Canada, generally refer to Victoria Day as the May 24th long weekend, when in truth, it rarely falls on the 24th. Sometimes May 24th falls on May 23rd, Or May 18th, or like this year, May 19th.

Whose birthday randomly jumps around like this? Sure, the *year* of our birthday may change as we get older, but the day pretty much stays the same. Unless we get demented and by then we won't care if we know our actual birth date, we'll just be happy to get cake.

Maybe that was it. Maybe Queen Victoria had cognitive changes and this is Canada’s tribute to them.

After a bit of digging, I discovered that this anomaly, like a lot of other things, can be blamed on a politician.

Someone at some point decided that celebrating May 24th on May 24th was too confusing and it would be better if it rotated and popped up, almost out of the blue, surprising the residents of Canada each year. Like herpes.

Smoked spare ribs on a white platter with maple bourbon bbq sauce dripping from a spoon.

My Rib Making Guide with tips for the grill, smoker and sous vide.

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It’s the most anticipated holiday in Canada in a lot of ways because it signals the unofficial start of summer. Hence the BBQs, beer and general debauchery. And gardening.

That’s also a big part of the May long weekend, because around here this weekend is the cue that it should be warm enough to plant tender plants like tomatoes or peppers.

This, like believing that May 24th falls on May 24th, is also a deceiving lie perpetrated by someone with a cruel streak

But it’s all part of being Canadian. And we deal with it in the only way we know how. By blaming it on the Americans. Nothing can ruin a May long weekend at the cottage like a Colorado low.

At my friend Lynne Knowlton's treehouse.

When Monday rolls around, we’ll be sunburned or frostbit, hungover with dirt under our nails and scratching at bug bites we can only locate with a mirror. We'll tell ourselves this is what Queen Victoria would have wanted. A country full of semi-drunk citizens trying to start their lawnmowers in mittens.

So here’s to you, Queen V. We celebrate you and your erratic birthday by wearing tank tops in 13°C weather. We plant, we party, we plunge into lakes that are technically still ice-adjacent.

Happy Victoria Day, Canada. Long may you weekend.