Happy Victoria Day!

Are you an expat who recently moved to Canada? Here's what you need to know about Victoria Day!

Victoria Day facts

Celebrated the Monday before May 25 in every almost every territory and province, the holiday is held to celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday -- except in Quebec where the day is known as National Patriots' Day or Journée nationale des patriotes. Patriot's Day has been celebrated since 2003 to "underline the importance of the struggle of the patriots of 1837–1838 for the national recognition of our people, for its political liberty and to obtain a democratic system of government."

Victoria Day is also widely known as the "May Two-Four" because it falls around May 24 and is slang for a case of 24 beers (a two-four). The day may also be called a "long weekend" since workers generally get three days off instead of the traditional two. The last Monday in May also informally marks the beginning of the country's summer season.

While the holiday is considered statutory in most places (which means the holiday is regulated by the government), in Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Yukon it is considered a general or non-statutory holiday. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the holiday is a non-paid public holiday. It's also a general holiday in Nunavut and New Brunswick in which all retail businesses must remain closed.

The only country to commemorate Queen Victoria, the Royal Union Flag is flown from sunrise to sunset on all federal government buildings and cities hold parades as well as other events, the most prominent ones taking place in Victoria, British Columbia.