Happy Canada Day! Canadians have been celebrating July 1 as a national holiday for 157 years. The Canadian confederation is younger than the United States. The British North America Act of 1867 established the confederation of former colonies of France and Britain on indigenous land north of the 49th parallel. July 1 was the date the confederation went into effect, so in 1868, Governor General Lord Monck signed a proclamation requesting Canadians to celebrate July 1 as the anniversary of Confederation. I don’t know how Canadians view that historic proclamation, but as a U.S. Citizen who has lived in border states for much of my life, I find it very Canadian. The proclamation does not order Canadians to celebrate, but requests that they celebrate. It is the Canadian way to get along and to make requests rather than issue orders.

After the initial celebration, the holiday became known as Dominion Day, a name that remained until 1982. The change in the name of the holiday reflected a much broader process undertaken by Canadians. The people of Canada, working through parliament and national leaders, have undertaken a long and careful process to carve out a Canadian multicultural identity. They have left behind the old identity of a white, British nation, one that never described a country with a province that was primarily settled by the French and vast areas of indigenous land. Among the changes that culminated in the change of the holiday to Canada Day were the adoption of a new maple leaf flag in 1965 and the formal adoption of “O Canada” as the national anthem in 1980. Canadians see multiculturalism as a core value of their nation. In Canada, people are encouraged to maintain their identity and take pride in their ancestral roots while, at the same time, having a sense of belonging to Canada.

There are plenty of Canadian flags flying up here next to the border. Despite heated rhetoric from Washington, DC, we are neighbors and friends. We respect the values and traditions of our neighbors. Dual flag poles at the Peace Arch and several locations around town, including in front of the visitor’s center, display the flag of the United States and the flag of Canada side by side. This year, in addition to those flags, many local businesses proudly display Canadian flags and have signs welcoming Canadians. The trade war has not been good for business. Many Canadians are staying at home and buying local products in response to the trade war started by the US president. Local businesses have seen 30 - 40% customer reductions since the inauguration. Despite what Fox News reports, there is no significant amount of popular support for the 51st state idea in Canada.

You have to be a hockey fan to understand the meaning, but “elbows up” has become a favorite symbol of a particular style of Canadian patriotism that has been on display in recent months.

In addition to the traditional flags, many homes and businesses are sporting flags that are new to me. Those banners combine the flags of both nations. The US flag is in the upper left-hand corner, and the Canadian maple leaf is in the lower right-hand corner, with the flag divided diagonally between the two emblems.

Folks will line up around Boundary Bay to watch the Canada Day fireworks at White Rock. Then on July 4, folks on the Canadian side will watch the US fireworks from their side of the bay. We get two displays close to each other in this corner of the country.

Like the Canadians, we can use our national holiday as an opportunity to reflect on our heritage and the meaning of our flag. Despite recent co-opting of the US flag by right-wing extremists who seem to lack both understanding of the emblem and creativity to come up with a distinct symbol, our flag celebrates not only freedom from tyranny, which was hard fought in the Revolutionary War, but also unity. Each star represents a different state with different histories and cultures. All are brought together on a banner with 13 stripes to remind us how those 50 states represent growth from the 13 original colonies.

I got started with my celebration of freedom a bit early yesterday. After breakfast, I rode my bike to the farm to check on the honeybees. I put my phone in an outside pocket of my bee suit so that it would be available to take pictures of the colonies when I had the top off of the hive. However, I got busy working with the bees and forgot to take photos. After I finished my chores, I folded up my bee suit and put it into a protective case I have. Then I got on my bike and rode home. For the rest of the day, my phone was in the suit pocket, folded up in the case at the farm. I didn’t miss it until we walked in the afternoon. Since I knew where it was and wasn’t worried about it, I waited until just before supper to retrieve it. I had a day of freedom from the phone, and I don’t think I missed anything important. Maybe I am finally learning to be retired.

I will continue my celebration this morning. I have a manuscript of a book that is ready to go to the publisher. According to my editor, it is fourth or fifth in line for book design before going to the printer. It should come out this fall. I’m new to this whole process, so I don’t know exactly what to expect, but so far, the manuscript has gone through at least eight drafts. In May, it was distributed to 12 readers across the US who gave me their comments in writing and by participating in a Zoom conversation. Since that conversation, I’ve worked hard to make necessary changes. Today, the book leaves my hands. Depending on my editor's reaction, it could be sent to a copy editor in a couple of weeks. I will be excited to announce it when it comes out, but today it feels like a significant accomplishment to get it off my plate and send it to the next step.

Freedom takes many forms. May our flags remind us that our countries are made up of many different people with different histories and identities, and there is room for this delightful diversity on the North American continent.