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.
Thanks for sharing these fun facts about Canada!
Posted by: Heather H. | July 03, 2017 at 10:29 AM
Happy Canada Day.
An interesting bit of Canadian trivia, with the note about the "loonie". I did not know that.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.
Posted by: Dianne | July 03, 2017 at 11:34 AM
Loving the Canada facts and those fabulous coins :) My husband and I our Railfans so I was drawn to the loonie right away when I saw the train on it :)
Posted by: Tina C | July 03, 2017 at 12:08 PM
Happy Canada Day !!! These hourly posts are a super creative way to honour our fabulous country and learn some fun facts. Thanks and well done SCT!
Posted by: Cindy P. | July 03, 2017 at 07:29 PM
Happy Birthday from the USA.
Posted by: Mandi Holmes | July 03, 2017 at 10:21 PM
Happy Canada Day!!
Posted by: Mel H | July 03, 2017 at 10:36 PM
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by: Kirsty Vittetoe | July 04, 2017 at 02:08 AM
Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦
Posted by: Sue Moody | July 04, 2017 at 11:05 PM
1/5 of the world's fresh water? Wow. I've gotta go read the other fun facts. Happy Canada day to you all from the U.S.
Posted by: Misty Murphy | July 05, 2017 at 11:44 AM
Happy birthday Canada from Brisbane Australia. Such a beautiful country. Travelled through the rockies a couple of years ago and visited other places in BC. Will definitely be back again
Posted by: Linda F | July 05, 2017 at 06:29 PM
Beautiful new coins to celebrate our country's 150th birthday!
Posted by: Heather Arsenault | July 06, 2017 at 12:20 AM
Happy Canada Day!
Posted by: Debbie L. | July 06, 2017 at 08:18 AM
Just now reading these post...and loving them!
Posted by: Karen Rushton | July 06, 2017 at 10:35 AM
Living in Buffalo, New York, close to the boarder of Canada, I have plenty of loonies, and toonies in my purse! Happy Birthday Canada!! Love being so close to visit whenever I get the chance!
Posted by: Paula Valentino | July 06, 2017 at 01:32 PM
Happy belated birthday to my favorite country!
Posted by: Tara McCarthy | July 06, 2017 at 01:49 PM
Happy 150th Canada! Love these fun facts!
Posted by: Maureen E | July 06, 2017 at 08:22 PM
Proud to be A Canadian Gutl🇨🇦❤
Posted by: Kelly Karges | July 06, 2017 at 10:41 PM
Love these fun facts!! Happy Canada Day!!
Posted by: Lorelei B | July 07, 2017 at 07:36 AM
Happy Canada Day!!
Posted by: Lorelei B | July 07, 2017 at 08:12 AM
The coins are so pretty. Thanks for the chance to win! Found you through Amy Tangerine and I love your magazine.
Posted by: Karen Perdew | July 07, 2017 at 08:09 PM
I actually ordered the Canadian Originals subscription box to support our artisans and got a special edition quarter - the Mint did all sorts of fun designs!
Posted by: Beatrice Lawson | July 07, 2017 at 08:51 PM
Happy Canada Day! Love the interesting fact about the loonie/toonie. I almost forgot that we had those in bills a long time ago.
Posted by: Shelley P | July 08, 2017 at 09:31 AM
Love all the great Canadian facts! You are an amazing resource! Love, love, love!
Posted by: Vera bering | July 08, 2017 at 09:10 PM