Celebrating the Maple Leaf

Today is National Flag Day in Canada. Who knew? Mind you, after all the Valentine's Day hype, I'm perfectly happy to not have to suffer through more advertising blather for a month or two. However, for anyone interested in the history of how the maple leaf came to replace the Union Jack, and many other tidbits about flags and Canadian history, the Government of Canada has an interesting web site at National Flag of Canada Day February 15 After browsing through this site, I now know that the name for the study of flags is vexillology. I also learned a point of flag etiquette from this site. It tells me that "when the National Flag of Canada is raised or lowered, or when it is carried past in a parade or review, people should face the flag, men should remove their hats, and all should remain silent." I did not know that. Ever anxious to do the right thing, however, I will now shut up and face the flag when I'm supposed to.