Because we were part of the "British Commonwealth".
So we finally declared our independence, sort of.
And then re-vamped our national anthem to bear this out:
O Canada! Our home and native land!Huh? The way we sang it when I was a child was:
True patriot love in all thy sons command.
With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!
From far and wide, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land
Glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee;
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
...O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.See the difference? Someone snuck in "God keep our land", instead of "O Canada".
O Canada, glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Way to abdicate responsibility! We are the ones who will keep our land "glorious and free".
Or not.
I noticed that too! And I thought I was kind of crazy, as though it has been that way all along.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Canada Day. It's fun. My family has been here since before confederation, and I think it deepens my ties to my land. I hope all the immigrants feel the same wonder and respect for the land that we do.
They may or may not; depends, in part, I would think, on why they came. But I bet their kids will.
ReplyDeleteHi Susannah - a belated Happy Canada Day. I never knew the words were different in your national anthem. I so enjoy listening to people singing it before every hockey game. Did the words get changed in French, too? I wouldn't know since I don't know French. BTW, I enjoyed visiting British Columbia a few years ago -- well, at least I visited Victoria and parts of Vancouver. Where is the Fraser Valley; what is your climate like?
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary;
ReplyDeleteAnd a happy July 4th to you!
I don't know what the words were in French before, so I don't know if they have been changed.
You've been here, or near here. The Lower Mainland is the area between the Fraser Canyon and the sea. It includes Vancouver. And if you took the ferry to Victoria, you drove over part of Delta proper, where I am.
Climate? moderate, often rainy.