Showing posts with label Patriots' Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patriots' Day. Show all posts

April 18 - Paul Revere Day (a.k.a. Patriots' Day) in the U.S.A.

  Posted on April 18, 2022

This is an update of my post published on April 18, 2011:



Ever heard of the “midnight ride of Paul Revere”? Well, it started on the evening of April 18, 1775. Today riders in Massachusetts will reenact this famous event, with one horseman playing Paul Revere riding from Boston to Lexington, and another playing William Dawes riding from Roxbury to Lexington.


Nobody wants to be so precise as to have the
re-enactment rides be at midnight!

Notice that today's reenactment will in fact be day rides, unlike the original nighttime rides. Also, the Boston Marathon is run on Patriot's Day, so today is also called Marathon Monday.

Happy running, riding, and spectating to all the citizens of Boston and environs!



Here are some links for the rest of us:

Watch a video to hear the poem Paul Revere's Ride, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.


Read an account of the ride in Revere's own words.

Remember that Paul Revere lived an entire life, beyond just this one legendary ride. He was a silversmith and engraver as well as a Sons of Liberty member / patriot.



  



















Plan ahead:


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May 22 – Victoria Day in Canada

Posted on May 22, 2017


Note: This is not an annual holiday that falls on May 22 every year. Instead, it is held on the Monday preceding May 25.

It's the unofficial end of winter and start of spring / summer!

In Canada, Victoria Day is the signal that the warmer season has begun. People often open their summer homes; amusement parks start their summer hours; gardeners dig into the kinds of tasks that you can only do when there is little danger of frost.

This holiday sometimes goes by other names such as May Two-Four or May Long. The explanation is that Queen Victoria's birthday was May 24, and Canadians often have a long weekend (or 3-day weekend) in her honor. 


In Quebec, residents celebrate National Patriots' Day instead of Victoria Day (but also on the Monday preceding May 25). This day honors the 1837 rebellion against the political realities of the then-British colony - even though the rebellion neither started nor stopped in May. Quebec residents celebrate with marches, fireworks, speeches, concerts, and award ceremonies. i suppose it isn't a huge surprise that French Canada isn't making the day's holiday mostly about the former British queen.


But, I gotta tell you, I don't think the English-speaking portion of Canada does too much Queen Victoria-oriented stuff, either. They're too busy opening their summer homes and going to amusement parks!

Queen Victoria was, however, a force to be reckoned with. Here are some Queen V. numbers:

18 - age at which Victoria inherited the throne
9 - the number of children Victoria had
63 - the number of years Victoria reigned (!)
81 - age at which Victoria died

An entire age was named after Victoria, so we are always talking about Victorian morals and Victorian Art, Victorian Christmas and Victorian culture, Victorian fashion and Victorian literature... 

Of course thousands of places have been named Victoria, as well, including Africa's largest lake, the capital of British Columbia, Canada, one of Australia's states, and what is perhaps the most amazing waterfall in the world.






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April 18, 2011 - Paul Revere Day –


 A.K.A. Patriots' Day (U.S.)


Ever heard of the “midnight ride of Paul Revere”? Well, it started on the evening of April 18, 1775. Today riders in Massachusetts will reenact this famous event—the 234th such reenactment!—with one horseman playing Paul Revere riding from Boston to Lexington, and another playing William Dawes riding from Roxbury to Lexington.

Notice that today's reenactment will in fact be day rides, unlike the original nighttime rides. Also, the Boston Marathon is run on Patriot's Day, so today is also called Marathon Monday.

Happy running, riding, and spectating to all the citizens of Boston and environs!

Here are some links for the rest of us:

Watch a short video that explains why Paul Revere and William Dawes made their ride. 

Read an account of the ride in Revere's own words. 

Explore a virtual museum on Paul Revere's ride.

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