Canadian flags line the road around Parliament Hill during the National Day of Honour ceremony in Ottawa May 9, 2014. The event marks the end of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. REUTERS/Blair Gable
Canadian flags line the road around Parliament Hill during the National Day of Honour ceremony in Ottawa May 9, 2014. The event marks the end of Canada's military mission in Afghanistan. Reuters/Blair Gable

February 15 is going to be a big day for Canada. On that day, excited Canadians will celebrate the Canada event that marks the 50th year or Golden jubilee of their National flag, which was first raised on February 15, 1965.

The flag was the brainchild of Liberal prime minister Lester B. Pearson and the golden jubilee of national flag is happening at a time when Canada is getting ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary of confederation in 2017, on a grand scale.

Canada's maple leaf flag symbolises the nation’s unity irrespective of race, language, belief or opinion. This was the core declaration of the Speaker of the Senate when the flag was inaugurated in 1965 and raised on Parliament Hill. In 1996, the day February 15 was declared “National Flag of Canada Day” and ever since it is being observed with due solemnity, according to Pch.gc. ca website.

Ottawa Event

Capital Ottawa will be leading the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the National Flag. On Feb 15, Winterlude Mascots will host a flag raising and citizenship reaffirmation ceremony. The event will be at 10:30 a.m at the Confederation Park, located near the Elgin Street and Laurier Street. An oath of citizenship will be undertaken expressing the citizens' commitment to Canada. People will also join the choir and sing “O Canada”. A photo exhibit of special people and moments associated with the flag will also be organised. Participants in the event will also be served a birthday cake.

Big Celebration

Canada's federal government has allotted $50,000 for celebrating the 50th birthday of the iconic Maple Leaf flag, reports CBC News. The Canadian Heritage stated that the corpus of $50,000 will be used for promotional material, festivities and outreach products.

Canada’s maple leaf flag has an interesting background. It was designed by George F.G. Stanley. He was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada. The multi-party parliamentary committee unanimously chose the design on October 29, 1964. The House of Commons passed the design on December 15, 1964 and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the new flag on January 28, 1965 before it was inaugurated on February 15, the same year.

Flag Song

The Flag Day will also be an occasion for Brockville’s gentry to hold a Flag Fest. On Feb. 15 they will celebrate the occasion with a song of the same name penned by Brockville’s Darlene Burns, who authored the theme song for the 2013 Brockville Tall Ships Festival, reports Canada Recorder.

Burns wrote the lyrics and scored the music to Canadian Pride band as a tribute to the country’s flag. The song will be produced and sung by Brockville and area musicians. A live performance will take place during the anniversary celebrations at Laurier Hill and the Memorial Fields between 9 am. and 5:30 p.m.

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