Canada culture (加拿大文化).doc

Canada---a land of maple leaf 李晚露 201403071104 法学院法英班 As the second largest country in the world, Canada is larger than the USA and reaches nearly a quarter of the way round the earth. With more than 35 million people, the distance from its east to west is over 5,500 kilometers and the country covers six of the worlds 24 time areas. Different from other foreign countries, there are two official languages in Canada——French and English. In the original history of Canada, the first batch of travelers arrived from England in 1497. Later, settlers from France reached Canada in 1534. For two centuries, English and French settlers struggled against each other in order to control the country. Today, one province of Canada is French-speaking---not only the TV and radio programs, but also the teaching in schools. However, despite the vast territory and cultural diversity of Canada, there’s one simple thing that runs through almost every aspect of life in Canada---the maple leaf. Next I’m going to introduce the maple leaf from two main aspects: Origins of the maple leaf At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements located in?New France?had attained a population of about 18,000. By this time, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the?French Canadians?along the?Saint Lawrence River. Its popularity with French Canadians continued and was reinforced when, at the inaugural meeting of the?Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste?in 1834,?the maple leaf was one of numerous emblems proposed to represent the society. Speaking in its favor,?Jacques Viger, the first mayor of?Montreal, described the maple as the king of our forest; ... the symbol of the Canadian people. and in 1848, the Maple Leaf, an annual Toronto literary review, declared the maple leaf to be the emblem of Canada. 2. The popularity of maple leaf I. Politic Among those objects with maple leaf, the most recognizable one must be the national flag. Some people even regard Canada as maple leaf state since it