Christmas

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Canadians enjoy holidays, but how much do we know about what we are
celebrating? Why is Canada, for example, the only country to celebrate
the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II? More importantly, why do Canadians
celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria, a monarch who never visited
this country and whose birthday is long forgotten in the land of her
birth, the United Kingdom? This six-volume series takes a look at
Canada’s major holidays: Christmas, Easter, Victoria Day, Canada Day,
Thanksgiving, and Remembrance Day. Each book is divided into short
chapters that discuss the origins of the holiday, its traditions, how it
is celebrated today, and how its symbols are connected with it. Each
book also includes fun activities (including crafts and recipes) related
to the holiday, a quiz, a glossary (explaining words appearing in bold
type in the text), and an index.

The text is supported with sidebars, maps, period photos, contemporary
pictures, and colourful illustrations. Better care could have been taken
with matching captions to illustrations. The Victoria Day volume shows
an elderly Victoria with the caption “Victoria was only 18 years old
when she became queen.” The Remembrance Day volume shows marching
Mounties with the caption “Some Remembrance Day ceremonies include a
military parade and bands” (the North-West Mounted Police was
deliberately created as a non-military force, and its successor, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, remains so to this day). Nonetheless,
apart from the odd bit of caption confusion, the overall quality of this
series is very good and highly recommended.