Side Track: The Long Weekend

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This is a Long Weekend in Canada . The third weekend in May is when the birthdays of both Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria are celebrated : Elizabeth because she is the reigning monarch and Victoria who was queen when Canada became a country .

It is also Bread and Cheese Day weekend for Mohawk peoples .

This was originally a gift from Queen Victoria for the role the Mohawks played in protecting the colony of Canada during the War of 1812(during her father's reign).

 Each year during Victoria's reign , a loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese was given to every Mohawk and a day of celebration was held to acknowledge the special relationship between the Six Nations and the Crown since Chief Joseph Brant's time in the 1700's .

Since her death , the Band Council of the Mohawks gives bread and cheese to each band member to remind that the original alliance with the Crown still stands . 

My husband won't be making the long trip home for Bread and Cheese this year. Instead , we will spend the time camping and fishing in Mattawa.

I'll be taking a couple of days off . Perhaps I can squeeze in one more post  before I leave ...we'll see.