Tulips Everywhere

12 May 2008By Zhu 16 Comments

Every year, once the snow has melted, tulips are displayed throughout the city of Ottawa.

It isn’t the result of luck though, but of the fruits of labor. Indeed, Ottawa is home to the largest tulip festival, thanks to history and… the Netherlands.

During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, Princess Juliana and her daughters, then in exile, found shelter in Canada. Princess Margaret was even born in Ottawa, and the maternity ward was declared to be officially a temporary part of the Netherlands, so that the birth could formally be claimed to have occurred on Dutch territory.

Right after the war, the Netherlands begun sending tulips bulbs to Ottawa as an expression of their gratitude. Today, about 20,000 tulips bulbs are given by the Royal family. Over 3 millions tulips are on display for about three weeks throughout Ottawa, and that’s just what we need after having watched snow melt (sometimes literally) for so many months!

Aren’t they beautiful?

16 Comments »

Linguist-in-Waiting said:

I love those tulips. I read somewhere that it has something to do with the fact that Canada sheltered the Royal family during the Second World War, and even made some house extra-territorial, so that when someone was born, it was granted Dutch citizenship, not Canadian. I just do not know which Queen or Princess it is.

Linguist-in-Waitings last great read…On the Road: May 17

# 17 May 2008 at 10:34 am