Day 185 of a Photo a Day: Tulips and Immigration

Today, my parents and I visited Ottawa's 65th annual Tulip Festival--extra red and white this year for Canada's 150th birthday.

In an age when refugees and immigration into Canada are more important issues than they've been in some time, it's interesting to note that the tulip festival's origins are tied to refugees and immigration into Canada during World War II.

In 1940, the Dutch Royal Family fled to the United Kingdom after the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands, and soon after, they made their way to Canada. Princess Julianna gave birth to a daughter in the Ottawa Civic Hospital, and helped spark a close relationship between the Netherlands and Canada.

As the war raged on, Canadian troops fought abroad, and played a critical role in freeing the Dutch from Nazi occupation. After the war came to a close, Princess Julianna returned to the Netherlands. As a display of gratitude toward the Canadian people, Princess Julianna sent tens of thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa. She later became Queen of the Netherlands, and continued to send bulbs annually, sparking interest about the tulips across Canada.

Today, over 2 million tulips bloom in Ottawa, which has adopted the tulip as its official flower. To bring this history back to my first point, although the staggering impact that was made on our country was certainly directly because of the power and privilege of the immigrant in question, I think the entire festival serves as a beautiful reminder of the impact that accepting other cultures into one's country and space can cause. Refugees and immigrants can provide us with perspectives, insights, practices, beliefs, religion, art, food, music, love, and so many other beautiful things that we would otherwise be lacking...including tulips. Tulips are beautiful. They come in every shape and colour, just like the people on this Earth. Happy 150th Canada--may this country bloom and become ever more diverse.