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CALENDAR CUSTOMS
CALENDAR CUSTOMS
Victoria Day
May 24th
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created May 2020/Updated May 2026
May 24th
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created May 2020/Updated May 2026
Victoria Day, May 24th: Commemorates the birthday of Queen Victoria (May 24, 1819). As children in the 1950s, we would chant, "The 24th of May is the Queen's birthday. If we don't get a holiday, we'll all run away."
It is a federal statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25th. In Newfoundland, it is also a shop-closing holiday, and is generally considered to be the beginning of the summer season, even though there is always a chance of snow.
In 1955 on Bell Island, Victoria Day was a holiday with pay for the miners and was observed on Monday, May 23rd. On that particular long weekend, there was what was described below as "the unseasonable presence of Arctic ice in Conception Bay," disrupting the local ferry service on Friday evening, May 20th, and preventing a number of Bell Islanders who owned motor cars from crossing to the mainland. The favourite Victoria Day weekend activity for many in those years had been trout fishing. Today, Victoria Day is often called "May 24th Weekend," when many Newfoundlanders go camping or open up their summer cottages.
Below is a description of Victoria Day observances from page 6 of the May 1955 edition of the Submarine Miner. The ferries serving Bell Island on that day in 1955 were the Kipawo, which carried only 7 cars, and the Maneco, which carried only 5 cars. The Maneco was withdrawn from service later in 1955 when it was replaced by the Elmer Jones, which was Bell Island's first drive-on ferry and could carry 20 cars.
It is a federal statutory holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25th. In Newfoundland, it is also a shop-closing holiday, and is generally considered to be the beginning of the summer season, even though there is always a chance of snow.
In 1955 on Bell Island, Victoria Day was a holiday with pay for the miners and was observed on Monday, May 23rd. On that particular long weekend, there was what was described below as "the unseasonable presence of Arctic ice in Conception Bay," disrupting the local ferry service on Friday evening, May 20th, and preventing a number of Bell Islanders who owned motor cars from crossing to the mainland. The favourite Victoria Day weekend activity for many in those years had been trout fishing. Today, Victoria Day is often called "May 24th Weekend," when many Newfoundlanders go camping or open up their summer cottages.
Below is a description of Victoria Day observances from page 6 of the May 1955 edition of the Submarine Miner. The ferries serving Bell Island on that day in 1955 were the Kipawo, which carried only 7 cars, and the Maneco, which carried only 5 cars. The Maneco was withdrawn from service later in 1955 when it was replaced by the Elmer Jones, which was Bell Island's first drive-on ferry and could carry 20 cars.
