Happy Victoria Day!

Fete de la Reine -- it's a holiday today in Canada -- Victoria Day. All schools and most businesses are closed throughout the country. The day is celebrated in honor of the birthday of Queen Victoria and the current monarch of Canada. Also known as May Two-four and May Long Weekend, this statutory holiday falls on the Monday preceding May 24. In Quebec, where we live, it's also known as National Patriots Day to commemorate the Patriots of the Lower Canadian Rebellion in 1837 -- the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada, now Quebec and the British colonial power of the province.

Like Memorial Day in the U.S., this holiday officially kicks off the summer and the flower planting season. These photos were from the Ottawa Tulip festival earlier this week.