Have you ever wondered about the history of the Canadian flag and why the maple leaf is an icon of one of the geographically largest countries of the world? The native inhabitants of Canada figured out the ability to turn the sap from maple trees into various forms of food. According to this website that comments on Canadian heritage, the following facts concern the history of the Canadian maple leaf.

:According to many historians, the maple leaf began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700.

:In 1834, the St. Jean Baptiste Society made the maple leaf its emblem.

:In 1836, Le Canadien, a newspaper published in Lower Canada, referred to it as a suitable emblem for Canada.

:In 1848, the Toronto literary annual The Maple Leaf referred to it as the chosen emblem of Canada.

:By 1860, the maple leaf was incorporated into the badge of the 100th Regiment (Royal Canadians) and was used extensively in decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales that year.

:Alexander Muir wrote The Maple Leaf Forever as Canada’s confederation song in 1867; it was regarded as the national song for several decades. The coats of arms created the next year for Ontario and Quebec both included the maple leaf.

:The maple leaf today appears on the penny. However, between 1876 and 1901, it appeared on all Canadian coins. The modern one-cent piece has two maple leaves on a common twig, a design that has gone almost unchanged since 1937.

uring the First World War, the maple leaf was included in the badge of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Since 1921, the Royal Arms of Canada have included three maple leaves as a distinctive Canadian emblem. With the proclamation of Canada’s new flag in 1965, the maple leaf has become the most-prominent Canadian symbol.

:In 1939, at the time of World War II, many Canadian troops used the maple leaf as a distinctive sign, displaying it on regimental badges and Canadian army and naval equipment.

:In 1957, the colour of the maple leaves on the arms of Canada was changed from green to red, one of Canada’s official colours.

:On February 15, 1965, the red maple leaf flag was inaugurated as the National Flag of Canada.

It comes as no shock that Brazil, the fifth most populous country in the world and the largest country within South America, is a metropolis of the southern hemisphere. One of the most impressive icons of a country’s religion, the Cristo Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro, on the Atlantic coast of Brazil, is a testament to the country’s overwhelming religious majority: Christianity.

The statue of Jesus of Nazareth is the fifth largest statue of Jesus in the world. 130 feet tall, inclusive of its 31 foot pedestal, and an arm span of 98 feet, the 625 ton statue (1,270,000 pounds) overlooks the city of Rio.

The statue is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World, which also includes the Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Machu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum in Italy and the Taj Mahal in India. The Great Pyramid of Giza was given honorary status.

Though Finland is the country who claims #9 on the top ten countries to visit ChristmasLightstheSoul, I thought I would share some photos and information about one specific part of the Sami culture. Northern Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia is an area of Scandinavia referred to as either Sápmi or Lappland. The people and culture indigenous to this area of the world are called the Sami people, and they have a unique history that is elegant and brutal at the same time.

Living in northern Scandinavia cannot be easy. Living within the Arctic circle, the Sami people are exposed to temperatures that are rarely seen elsewhere on Earth. Their lives revolve around the migration patterns of herds upon herds of reindeer. A single family is often responsible for the well being of an entire herd.

I could delve further into Sami history, however, I want to refrain from doing so at this time. I am currently in the process of drawing up an Ethnographic Research Proposal for my Cultural Anthropology  class here at Boston University, so I hope you will return to ChristmasLightstheSoul when I upload my proposal and provide you with more insight into the incredible culture of the Sami.

However, I do want to share some information with you about the unique clothing of the Sami people. Called gákti, the traditional clothing worn by the Sami people is representative of their family, their marital status and where they are from regionally. The colors are extraordinary! The garments are worn in ceremonial situations and when the Sami are at work herding reindeer. Notice the boots; the ends of the toes are curled up similar to those types of shoes that are often associated with elves. The purpose of this design is to help the Sami walk through fresh snow, breaking the freshly laid snow to allow better compacting of the snow underneath their feet.

Many of the photographs are taken from Google Images. National Geographic did a spread on the Sami people a couple of years ago, and several of the photos below are from that spread. I take no credit for any of the photographs taken below and I found all of these photographs openly on the internet.

Over the past 10 months, ChristmasLightstheSoul has been visited over 1,667 times by people from over 40 different countries on all six habitable continents. I am so thankful for the enthusiasm and the widespread interest in my blog, and I hope to continue to provide interesting photographs, articles, thoughts and opinions for many months, if not years to come. As a sign of my gratitude, I would like to say thank you in the languages of the top 10 countries represented, as well as write an article on some unique aspect of each of those countries. Can you guess from the languages below which ten countries have visited ChristmasLightstheSoul the most? It’s difficult if some countries speak the same language… so I’ll give you the continent if they’re the same, though that makes it really easy, well, except for South America.

Thank you! (North America)

Thank you! (Europe)

Gracias! (Europe)

Gracias! (South America)

Grazie!

Terima kasih!

Merci or thank you!

Obrigado!

Kiitos!

Спасибо!

Once again, thank you! I’m quite looking forward to more and more CLTS activity! I hope you enjoy the series of country profiles!