May Two-Four WeekendVictoria Day in Canada

From 1845 until 1952, Canada celebrated Queen Victoria's birthday on May 24th, the actual day of her birth. But in the interest of efficiency, and with the extremely important goal of making sure Canadians have a real 3-day weekend, the date for the celebration was changed in 1952. Nowadays, the first Monday preceding May 25th, is the day we in Canada celebrate Victoria Day.

Victoria Day weekend is when many people open their cottages; others go camping; others picnic and barbecue. Two important components of any Victoria Day celebration are:

1. Fireworks
2. Beer

The holiday is still referred to as the May two-four weekend, even if Victoria Day doesn't occur on May 24th, because beer in Ontario is often/usually bought in cases of 24, referred to as "a two-four" of Blue or whatever brand one is drinking.

Some little known facts about Queen Victoria are that she was far from Victorian in her sexual tastes with her various acknowledged and unacknowledged partners. She became "Victorian" only considerably later in her life. [source: pp. 248 - 250 of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into History, a gift several years ago from my nephew, BQ].