Good morning and welcome to our Canada 150th birthday celebration! Each hour today we hope you'll join us as we go on a journey together and share some interesting things that make Canada the special and unique place it is. It's all about being together today friends. Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine is based just outside of Toronto, Canada and today is not only about celebrating our grand home but also sharing this home with our readers all around the world. If you're following us from Canada, please jump in and say "hello" and if you're joining us from around the world, please tell us where you're from! At SCT we love to celebrate which means today we have some fun Canadian themed giveaways, an exclusive printable and a little something extra we've created to honour this occasion. At the end of the day, we a fabulous giveaway you won't want to miss. We also want to take a moment to thank our dear friend Alyssa Light for helping us put together a wonderful day for our readers all over the world! So let's get this party started with our name...CANADA!
Internationally, Canada is a place of community and peace, and our name comes from the Huron-Iroquois word, “kanata” meaning “community”. We are a diverse nation that welcomes visitors, refugees, and immigrants from all over the globe. We are a nation that is proud of its reputation for being gentle, kind, and inclusive. Recently, as we welcomed more than 25 000 Syrian refugees, signs started popping up in Ontario that read “No matter where you are from, we’re glad you’re our neighbour”. As we seek to learn more about our international neighbours, we pause in honour of our heritage of community and to thank the Huron-Iroquois People for the beautiful word “kanata.”
We commissioned a wonderful local Canadian designer, Nicki Traikos of Life I Design, (find her on Instagram too @lifeidesign!) to create an exclusive print that you can download and print at home!
Thank you Nicki! The maple leaf on the Canada Flag symbolizes unity, tolerance, and peace and this image represents just that.
Another fun thing Canada is known around the world for is our "loonie" and our "toonie." These coins represent our $1 and $2 currency.
"The Canadian one dollar coin, commonly called the loonie, is a gold-coloured one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a bird which is common and well known in Canada, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse."
"The Canadian two-dollar coin, commonly called the toonie, is the most valuable of the frequently used Canadian coins. It was introduced on February 19, 1996, by Public Works minister Diane Marleau. The toonie is a bimetallic coin which on the reverse side bears an image of a polar bear by artist Brent Townsend." (thanks Wikipedia!)
Interesting story, the "loonie" was not originally supposed to have a loon on it. After the dies were created for this special coin, the dies were lost in transit. Rather than take a chance of counterfeit coins being made the Royal Canadian Mint created a new die and on it, the loon! The original dies still have not yet been recovered.
Today we would love to share a loonie and a toonie with lucky readers each hour (along with some other fun prizes along the way!) Be sure to leave a comment below by July 7th and we will randomly select one lucky winner this hour to win them! After leaving your comment here we hope you'll take a moment to visit us on Facebook and Instagram and leave a comment there as well for THREE chances to win! We'll be compiling all the comments each hour.
Next hour, learn what some of our favourite Canadian foods are!
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Fun fact: Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world's lakes combined. In fact, Ontario, Canada, has more than 250,000 lakes. They contain about 1/5 of the world's fresh water.
Loving these Canada Fun Facts!
Posted by: debra | July 01, 2017 at 09:06 AM
Happy Canada Day!!!
Posted by: Beth Anne Thomas | July 01, 2017 at 09:06 AM
Hello from rainy Ottawa, Canada's capital. I love this small city of ours with all its green space, Parliament Buildings, canal (home of the longest outdoor skating rink in the world) and its many other beautiful sites. Plus it's the birthplace of the yummy Beaver Tail! Happy 150th Canada!
Posted by: missgailly | July 01, 2017 at 09:06 AM
Happy Canada Day!
Loving these facts can wait to see more
Posted by: Marg Gutland | July 01, 2017 at 09:12 AM
Happy 150 Canada! It's going to be a great day!
Posted by: Janice | July 01, 2017 at 09:18 AM
Happy Canada Day...I hope everyone gets to join in on some amazing community festivities to celebrate our wonderful country!!!
Posted by: Sandy Ross | July 01, 2017 at 09:24 AM
Happy Canada Day. What a great country to live in. Wishing everyone happiness today and all year.
Posted by: BevB | July 01, 2017 at 09:26 AM
Happy Canada Day! We are so blessed to be living in such a great country.
Posted by: Dee Hamoen | July 01, 2017 at 09:34 AM
Happy 150 all.
Posted by: CatherineC | July 01, 2017 at 09:36 AM
Scrappy Canada Day!
Posted by: Leslie Hungate Gunnewiek | July 01, 2017 at 09:38 AM
Happy Canada Day!Great print by Nicki!
Posted by: Karen Carvell | July 01, 2017 at 09:39 AM
Happy 150th Canada Day! I love visiting 🇨🇦 Canada! Lots of great places to visit and some amazing foods! My favorite Canadian food is poutine! Better than chocolate in my opinion! Many think that all it is is fries with cheese and gravy but they are so wrong! It has to have the real curd cheese and the special poutine gravy over homemade fries! Without these three ingredients it just isn't poutine!
Love the backstory on the loonie and toonie! TFS!
Posted by: Barb macaskill | July 01, 2017 at 09:40 AM
Happy Canada Day! Love the fun facts. Going to celebrate the day with family at a block party. It may rain where I am in Calgary but hoping it holds off.
Posted by: Kari Lynn L | July 01, 2017 at 09:41 AM
Hello Happy Canada Day!
Posted by: Adele Wasden | July 01, 2017 at 09:41 AM
Happy Canada day :)
Posted by: Deena P | July 01, 2017 at 09:41 AM
Happy Canada day!! That is a beautiful print. I only learned that story about the loonie recently, and it really adds to the awesomeness of the coin!
Posted by: Jeanie L | July 01, 2017 at 09:42 AM
🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day
When I was young child ,long , long ago it was called dominion day 🇬🇧
Time change but we still celebrate a great country.
Posted by: MaryAnn N | July 01, 2017 at 09:45 AM
Happy Canada Day! Visiting Victoria,BC this week. Wishing everyone a great day of celebration😎💋🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Posted by: Ana | July 01, 2017 at 09:47 AM
Congratulations Canada! Happy 150th Anniversary!
Posted by: Mary Assaf | July 01, 2017 at 09:48 AM
Happy Canada 150 Day ! .. We have so much to celebrate! I will use the leaf print in a project!
Posted by: Michele Heenan | July 01, 2017 at 09:49 AM
Happy Canada Day! Love the download!
Posted by: HeatherL | July 01, 2017 at 09:50 AM
Happy Canada Day from Scarborough, ON. I a plan for a special Canada layout and the printable will now be part of it. Thanks for hosting this celebration.
Posted by: Janet MacKay | July 01, 2017 at 09:56 AM
Hello from Waterloo Ontario! Happy Canada Day! What a fun way to celebrate :)
Posted by: Kristen Kirkland | July 01, 2017 at 09:58 AM
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by: Dawn Skene | July 01, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦
Posted by: Stacey | July 01, 2017 at 10:05 AM