Canada Day and the Red Maple Leaf
Did you know that Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2017?
Canada Day is celebrated on the 1st of July to celebrate the British North American Act,
when 3 colonies formed to become Canada in 1867.
Almost a hundred years later, Canada changed its flag to the well known red Maple Leaf in 1965.
The red maple leaf played a great role in Canadian culture and has been used as far back as the 1700's.Throughout the years, it was used in badges and emblems, as decorations for royal events, in songs, in the anthem, on Canada's coins and eventually on the national flag.
There are 150 species of Maple trees in the northern hemispheres and Canada natively has 10. The most popular is the sugar maple, which is famous for its maple syrup. It takes an impressive 50 gallons of tree sap to make just 1 gallon of syrup!
Maple tree wood is used in many ways as well. It is used to smoke food, to produce Tennessee whiskey and also to make guitars and violins.
Although maple trees generally live up to 300 years old, the oldest maple tree in Canada is 400 years old. It is known as the "Comfort Tree" and is located in North Pelham Ontario.It is 80 feet tall and 20 feet wide.
