Victoria Day 2013

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"Victoria and Family", © 1978 Norval Morrisseau


In Canada, the celebration of Victoria Day occurs every year on Monday, prior to May 25th. It is the official celebration in Canada of the birthdays of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. Victoria Day was established as a holiday in Canada West (Now Ontario) in 1845, and became a national holiday in 1901. Before Victoria Day became a national Holiday, people had celebrated Empire Day , beginning in the 1890s as Victoria approached her Diamond jubilee in 1897. Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and empress of India was born on 24 May 1819. She ascended the throne after the death of her uncle George IV in 1837 when she was only 18. She ruled until her death in 1901 when her son Edward the VII became king of England.

BLOG MASTER'S NOTE: The above painting titled "Victoria and Family, 1978" shows a celebration of Norval Morrisseau's first grandchild (Andy, born in 1977) from his daughter Victoria (born in 1960) and her husband Walter Henry Kakekagumick (born in 1959; died on April 6th, 2013).
~ They have three children and nine grandchildren.

*The acrylic painting on canvas in this post: "Victoria and Family", 59"x39", © 1978 Norval Morrisseau. Image of this painting can be found on page 153 in "The Art of Norval Morrisseau" /Sinclair, Lister, Jack Pollock, and Norval Morrisseau/ -Toronto, Ontario: Methuen, 1979; ISBN: 0-458-93820-3/