<P> Several cities hold a parade on the holiday, with the most prominent being that which has taken place since 1898 in the monarch's namesake city of Victoria, British Columbia . In nearby New Westminster, the Victoria Day weekend is distinguished by the Hyack Anvil Battery Salute, a tradition created during colonial times as a surrogate for a 21 - gun salute: Gunpowder is placed between two anvils, the top one upturned, and the charge is ignited, hurling the upper anvil into the air . Other celebrations include an evening fireworks show, such as that held at Ashbridge's Bay Beach in the east end of Toronto, and at Ontario Place, in the same city . </P> <P> Across the country, Victoria Day serves as the unofficial marker of the end of the winter social season, and thus the beginning of the summer social calendar . Banff, Alberta's Sunshine Village ends its lengthy ski season on Victoria Day and, likewise, it is during this long weekend that many summer businesses--such as parks, outdoor restaurants, bicycle rentals, city tour operators, etc.--will open . Victoria Day is also a mark of the beginning of the cottage season, when cottage owners may reverse the winterization of their property . Gardeners in Canada will similarly regard Victoria Day as the beginning of spring, as it falls at a time when one can be fairly certain that frost will not return until the next autumn . There is also a change in fashion: lighter - coloured summer clothing was traditionally worn from Victoria Day through until Labour Day . </P> <P> The holiday is colloquially known in parts of Canada as May Two - Four; a double entendre that refers both to the date around which the holiday falls (May 24) and the Canadian slang for a case of twenty - four beers (a "two - four"), a drink popular during the long weekend . The holiday weekend may also be known as May Long or May Run, and the term Firecracker Day was also employed in Ontario . </P> <P> A traditional, short song about Victoria Day went as follows: "The twenty - fourth of May / Is the Queen's birthday; / If they don't give us a holiday / We'll all run away!" The holiday is referenced in the song "Lakeside Park" by Canadian rock band Rush, from their 1975 album Caress of Steel . The song features the line, "everyone would gather on the 24th of May, sitting in the sand to watch the fireworks display". </P>

Who is victoria and why do we celebrate her birthday