Jordan

~ joannerambling ~ 4 Comments

This week we are looking at Jordan an Arab nation on the east bank of the Jordan River, is defined by ancient monuments, nature reserves and seaside resorts. It’s home to the famed archaeological site of Petra, the Nabatean capital dating to around 300 B.C. Set in a narrow valley with tombs, temples and monuments carved into the surrounding pink sandstone cliffs, Petra earns its nickname, the “Rose City.”

The population is around 12 million.

The capital is Amman, which is a modern city with numerous ancient ruins. It is one of the region’s principal commercial and transportation centers as well as one of the Arab world’s major cultural capitals.

The Jordanian dinar has been the currency of Jordan since 1950. The dinar is divided into 100 qirsh or 1000 fulus. It is pegged to the US dollar. The Central Bank of Jordan commenced operations in 1964 and became the sole issuer of Jordanian currency, in place of the Jordan Currency Board.

The country’s official language is Arabic, everyone in the country, including the minority communities, speak Arabic in their day-to-day dealings.

In addition to the Arabic language, English has become a significant component in the school curriculum. While Arabic remains the official language in Jordan, English has been taught in Jordan’s schools and universities since the independence of Transjordan as a Kingdom.

The flag of Jordan is made up of three horizontal bands of black, white, and green, with a red chevron and a white seven-pointed star in the middle of the white band. The flag was adopted on April 16, 1928.

The colours and the star represent the following 

  • Black: Represents the Abbasid Caliphate
  • White: Represents the Umayyad Caliphate
  • Green: Represents the Fatimid Caliphate
  • Red: Represents the Hashemite dynasty and the Arab Revolt
  • Star: The seven points of the star represent the seven verses of the opening chapter of the Quran, the Al-Fatiha. It also represents the unity of the Arab people, faith in one God, humility, national spirit, virtue, social justice, and aspiration.

More than 92% of the population are Muslims and approximately 8% are Christians. Most Christians belong to the Greek Orthodox Church; but there are also Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and a few Protestant denominations.

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral National Assembly. The king is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The prime minister is the head of government and is responsible for carrying out the day-to-day tasks of the executive branch. The judicial branch is independent of the other two branches. Which are the executive branch and the legislative branch.

The government operates comprehensive health facilities, including a national health insurance program. The government supervises and coordinates social and charitable organizations. 

The government has the power to block and censor websites. 

Although the constitution provides for the freedom to practise one’s religion in accordance with the customs that are observed in the Kingdom, unless they violate public order or morality.

However, such things as wanting to convert from Islam to another religion isn’t allowed and are not recognised as anything other than Islam and are still considered legally Muslims and face immense societal pressure.

There are many restrictions against religious minorities such as.

  • Jordan’s government may deny recognition to a religion.
  • Baháʼís are not permitted to establish schools, places of worship or cemeteries.
  • Aside from Christians, all other non-Muslim minorities do not have their own courts to adjudicate personal status and family matters.
  • Muslim women may not marry non-Muslim men, such as Christians, unless the men legally convert to Islam.
  • Since Muslims are prohibited from converting to other religions according to the Sharia law, converts from Islam cannot change their religion on governmental records. However, converts to Islam are required to change their religious identification to “Muslim” on governmental records and civil documents.

When it come to women’s rights, they suck, females over the age of 15 need a male guardian’s permission to marry for the first time. A marriage to a non-Muslim is not recognised.

They cannot travel abroad with their children without the consent of a male guardian or having judicial consent. They are subject to restrictions when it comes to employment and general prohibited from night work.

Week 6 of 2025

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It is a nice cool start to the day with a temp of 20C but is supposed to reach 27C which is pretty warm.

I found Jessica’s washing hanging on my clothes hoist when I got up, I am guessing her washing machine died.

Tim and I went to Lake Fair to do some shopping, I was exhausted by the time we got home.

Thankfully we turned the air con on before we left, so the house was nice when we got home.

Jess came over just for two eggs, and yeah her washing machine died, she has ordered a new one which should come soon.

Steps:6,581

It is a nice cool start to the day with a temp of 20C but is supposed to reach 28C which is pretty warm.

Sue is driving Sandy and her kids around as her car is still at the mechanics, and Dave’s car has now broken down also.

I have both Syd & Summer here for the day.

By 4pm I started to feel really tired but stuck it out till 8.30pm and now I am off to bed.

Steps: 7,075

Another nice cool start to the day with a temp of 20C but is supposed to reach 30C which is hot. By BGL was 5.5

I waited till Tim left for work to have a shower; I woke up with a shocking headache.

Sandy and Skylar turned up they had walked to the high school to get Landon’s uniform.

It has been a pretty hot day with a top temp of 32C

Steps: 11,229

Another nice cool start to the day with a temp of 20C but is supposed to reach 33C which is hot. My BGL was 5.2

Sue called in and picked up some letters I need posted and will post them for me today.

By midday it was 33C, I turned the air con on in the bedroom as well it was that hot.

Tasha came home early from Tafe due to the heat and having no working air con it the classroom, she said everyone was dripping in sweat and the teacher sent them outside a few times to get out of the extremely hot room but by I think 1.30pm she had enough and sent them home. 

Steps:5,080

First day of school for the year.

A good night when the alarm went off at 5am, I felt like I had only not long been in bed.

It is a cool but muggy start to the day it is currently 21C and we are looking at a top of 28C.

By 1pm it was 27C but no need for the air con today, thankfully.

Denni & Landon called in on their way home from school, Sue and Sandy picked them up from here at around 4pm.

Steps:9,733

It is another nice cool morning at 21C before turning into a damn hot day with a top temp of 29C. My BGL was 5.1

Got a message from Sue, Sandra has Dave’s car back, so she won’t need Sue to drive her around anymore.

By midday it was 29 and I had to turn the air con on. 

Steps:9,487    

It is another nice cool morning with the temp being 19C, but we are looking at another hot one. My BGL was 5.1

Tim is working today and tomorrow.

I have been feeling blah most of the day, just not really feeling like doing much. So I didn’t do much, I did vacuum twice, got the clothes off the hoist, folded and put away, tidy the kitchen feed the birds, wrote a letter and read some blogs but that’s all.  

Steps: 5,060

Israel’s National Anthem

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This week’s Hodgepodge is here: https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/02/hodgepodge-because-its-thursday.html

This week we are looking at the national anthem of the country Israel.

The anthem is a song called Hatikvah (The Hope, it was written in 1878 by Naftali Herz Imber, a Jewish poet. The theme of the song reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel which is not the country but refers to the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. As in a biblical reference, to the Land of Canaan, or the Promised Land also known as the Holy Land.

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, “Hatikvah” was unofficially proclaimed the national anthem. It did not officially become the national anthem until November 2004, when an abbreviated and edited version was sanctioned by the Knesset in an amendment to the Flag and Coat-of-Arms Law (now renamed the Flag, Coat-of-Arms, and National Anthem Law).

In its modern rendering, the official text of the anthem incorporates only the first stanza and refrain of the original poem. The predominant theme in the remaining stanzas is the establishment of a sovereign and free nation in the Land of Israel, a hope largely seen as fulfilled with the founding of the State of Israel.

The lyrics are below.

Kol od ba’le’vav p’nima,Nefesh yehudi ho’miyah.

U’lefa-atei mizrach kadimah,

Ayin le’Tziyyon tzofiyah.

Od lo avda tikva-teinu,

Ha’tikvah bat sh’not al-payim

Lih-yot am chofshi b’ar-tzeinu

Eretz Tziyyon v’Yerushalayim.

Translation:

As long as within our hearts

The Jewish soul sings,

As long as forward to the East

To Zion, looks the eye –

Our hope is not yet lost,

It is two thousand years old,

To be a free people in our land

The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Apology to the stolen Generation

~ joannerambling ~ 9 Comments

Hi everyone, Debby from My Shasta Home, she can be found here: https://myshastahome.blogspot.com/ asked to know more about the apology for the stolen generation.

On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples, particularly the Stolen Generations, on behalf of the nation at Australian Parliament House.

The Apology was presented as a motion for voting to the Chamber. It acknowledged that ‘the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments had resulted in the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and ‘inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians’.

Between 1910 and 1970 thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities by churches, welfare organisations and governments. The exact number is not known. However, is estimated that, anywhere from 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and fostered or adopted by non-Indigenous families or raised in institutions. These children are known as the Stolen Generations. Many experienced neglect, physical and sexual abuse and exploitative labour, and were denied contact with their families.

In 1995 a National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families was established by  then Attorney-General, Michael Lavarch. The Inquiry – conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission – received nearly 800 submissions, including evidence from 535 from Indigenous individuals and organisations.

Below are a couple of the statements given to the inquiry.

Lots of white kids do get taken away, but that’s for a reason – not like us. We just got taken away because we was black kids, I suppose – half-caste kids. If they wouldn’t like it, they shouldn’t do it to Aboriginal families.

Confidential evidence 357, South Australia
Bringing Them Home, 1997

The Government has to explain why it happened. What was the intention? I have to know why I was taken. I have to know why I was given the life I was given and why I’m scarred today. Why was my Mum meant to suffer? Why was I made to suffer with no Aboriginality and no identity, no culture? Why did they think that the life they gave me was better than the one my Mum would give me? And an apology is important because I’ve never been apologised to. My mother’s never been apologised to, not once, and I would like to be apologised to.

Confidential evidence 139, Victoria: woman removed at 12 months in 1967
Bringing Them Home, 1997

On 26th May 1997 the Inquiry’s Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Report documented the grief and loss caused by the breaking of cultural, spiritual, and family ties, and the intergenerational impact on the lives and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as their resilience and dignity:

For individuals, their removal as children and the abuse they experienced at the hands of the authorities, or their delegates, have permanently scarred their lives. The harm continues in later generations, affecting their children and grandchildren.

Bringing Them Home, 1997

A key recommendation of the report was the need for an official acknowledgement of and apology for the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Below is what the apology says.

I move:

That today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

The Hon Kevin Rudd
13 February 2008

The National Apology is considered a milestone step toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The Prime Minister’s speech was met with applause, tears, and relief from many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including members of the Stolen Generations, present in the House of Representatives. Thousands of people gathered throughout the country to watch a broadcast of the Apology, including hundreds watching from the Great Hall and thousands on the lawns outside Parliament House.

Following the speeches, Lorraine Peeters (Weilwun and Gamilaroi peoples), acting on behalf of the Stolen Generations present in the Parliament, presented a glass coolamon to the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Leader of the Opposition, Brendan Nelson. The coolamon – made by Bai Bai Napangardi, an artist from the Balgo community in Western Australia – contained a message that said:

On behalf of our people, thank you for saying sorry. In return we give you this gift on behalf of us affected by being taken away from our families. This is our way of saying thank you. The gift is a glass coolamon, fragile yet strong. Coolamons have carried our children. The gift is a symbol of the hope we place in the new relationship you wish to forge with our people. A relationship that itself is fragile yet strong. We have a new covenant between our peoples, that we will do all we can to make sure our children are carried forward, loved and nurtured and able to live a full life.’

The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition then jointly presented the coolamon to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who accepted it saying:

I gratefully receive this gift on behalf of the House. It will represent a very important point in the history of not only this chamber but our nation.

At the conclusion of the formal proceedings in the Chamber, an event was held in Members Hall, attended by many representatives of the Stolen Generations, Indigenous leaders, Indigenous and other organisations, and current and former parliamentarians. There, Tom Calma, then Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, responded to the Apology. Nominated by the National Stolen Generations Alliance and the National Sorry Day Committee, the two national bodies representing the Stolen Generations and their families, he declared that it was an ‘historic day’, one

… on which ‘our leaders – across the political spectrum – have chosen dignity, hope and respect as the guiding principles for the relationship with our first nations’ peoples’. 

The National Apology and the Coolamon are on display at Parliament House.

Woman’s work during war times

~ joannerambling ~ 2 Comments

First up there is a new post over here:

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-sister-like-you.html

Now for today’s post.

During the second world war saw many women working in wartime heavy industries in many countries including Australia, here in Newcastle hundreds of women were recruited to replace the men off fighting.

Around 500 men from Lysaght’s workshops alone were gone off fighting, the new spinner shop opened by Lysaght’s to make protective streamlined cowlings for aircraft propeller hubs, they were made of aluminum and had to be manufactured to extremely fine   tolerances.  This was a brand-new enterprise for Newcastle, those working there were taught by having to recondition 60 English made spinners for De Havilland Mosquito bombers, this work continued as a combination of local made and imported parts and by the time the plant finally wound up, they had made 900 spinners for the Mosquitoes, Beauforts and Lincoln aircraft.

The girls had to learn every job so that absences didn’t slow things down, they also had to wear scarves to keep their hair out of the machines, although there were accidents and if someone’s hair got caught in something like a drill chuck, the machine would have to be shut down and they would be lucky if they weren’t scalped.

In fact, women many countries worked in a variety of roles, including in the Australian Women’s Army Services (AWAS) and the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). They performed essential duties that were previously considered to be men’s work. 

They operated anti-aircraft batteries, searchlights they also worked with range-finders. Women also worked in intelligence roles and defensive roles. They drove transports and plotted coordinates

Women’s contributions to the war effort helped to advance employment opportunities for women after the war, also their work during the war led to the establishment of the Women’s Employment Board in 1943.

Women’s work during the war led to women receiving 75% of the male wage for the same job.

Swift Fox

~ joannerambling ~ 2 Comments

This weeks’ fox is the swift fox.

The swift fox is a small light orange-tan fox around the size of a domestic cat found in the western grasslands of North America, such as Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. It also lives in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada, where it was previously extirpated. 

It has pale yellow fur with brownish ears and a fluffy tail with a black spot at the base of its tail and at the tip. Swift Foxes are characteristically nocturnal animals, although they are sometimes active during the daytime as well. The leave their dens at night to hunt and rarely move far from their dens.

They are solitary hunters, and their activity varies by season. They are nocturnal in the winter and become more diel in the summer.

Like other foxes they are monogamous and likely pair for life, unless a mate dies.

Swift foxes are charismatic with their alert, intelligent personalities and incredible physical abilities. The species earned its common name from early Western settlers impressed by its speed and agility—the swift fox has been clocked at nearly 40 mph.

They typically live 3-6 years but have been known to live up to 14 years.

The pups are born blind their eyes remain closed for up to 15 days they are dependent on their mothers for the first few weeks of their lives. They are weaned at about 6 to 7 weeks old and stay with their parents for about 6 months.

The gestation period is about 50 to 60 days with the average litter size is 4 to 5 pups. Young males become reproductively mature at one year of age and young females usually start breeding when they are two years old.

They are omnivores and eat a variety of foods, including insects, grass, reptiles, and carrion.

Israel

~ joannerambling ~ 8 Comments

Ok after a bit of thought I am kicking of countries in the middle east with Israel.

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the Southern Levant of the Middle East, and shares borders with Lebanon and Syria to the north, the West Bank and Jordan to the east, the Gaza Strip and Egypt to the southwest, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

The capital is Jerusalem, the population was 9.7 million in 2023. The official language is Hebrew.

It was called British Palestine in 1920 because that portion of the Ottoman Empire was given to the British to manage after World War I.

Both Jews and Arabs have claimed it as theirs alone. From a purely historical perspective, “Israel” predates “Palestine” by more than a millennium. But, with the Jewish people then dispersed from their homeland, “Palestine” became home to a substantial Arab population, again for more than a millennium

It is the homeland of the Jewish people, it is also the birthplace of Christianity, it also contains Islam’s third holiest site – the Dome of the Rock, and the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa.

Did you know voicemail technology was developed in Israel, or that there are more than 135 beaches.

An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place in the Gaza Strip and Israel since 7 October 2023.

This is the fifth war since 2008 in the Gaza–Israel conflict, and the most significant military engagement in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

If like me, you don’t what or who HAMAS is well here is the answer. The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas, is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islamist political organisation with a military wing known as the Al-Qassam Brigades. It has governed the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007. 

The Israeli flag is white with a blue Star of David in the middle and two horizontal blue stripes. The flag was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after Israel declared independence. The meaning goes beyond its visual elements. The Star of David at its center is a symbol of Jewish unity and connection to faith. The blue stripes represent the rivers of Babylon, evoking the longing for the Jewish homeland as described in the Bible.

The new Israeli shekel is Israel’s official currency. The value of one new shekel is equal to one hundred agorot. Since the year 1986, the Israeli Shekel has served as the country’s primary unit of currency.

The official religion is Orthodox Judaism, as I am sure most people would know, however, Israel’s laws protect the freedom of religion for all people, or so they say, how true that is I do not know.

The country’s basic laws define it as a Jewish democratic state. 

Judaism has been influential in Israel since the country’s founding. It plays a major role in the country’s political and state institutions. 

Each city and area of government has a religious council that regulates Jewish practices. 

Israel has religious courts that regulate personal status matters. 

Naturally everyone knows how dangerous it is to visit this country right now.

Week 5 of 2025

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TIM’S BIRTHDAY HE IS 64 TODAY

I had a sleep in, I got up at 4.45 to pee and due to how tired I felt I decided to take my tablets and when the alarm went off at 5am I turned it off and stayed in bed till 5.30.

It is a cool morning with a temp of 17 degrees, my BGL was 5.5

Sue has been feeling sad today as it would also be Mick’s birthday, and it has made her sad.

I gave Tim the folder with the messages I asked people to write to him for his birthday, he has read through it and seems happy with it a bit surprised so many wrote something.

It has been a hot day reached a top of 29 degrees.

Kathy and the girls came over to see Tim and they gave him three small garden gnomes which he has placed around his garden out the back.

Here we are at another Monday, and it’s supposed to be a hot one, it is currently 23 degrees, and we are looking at a top temp of 32 degrees.0

Tim took Sam for a driving lesson they were gone a couple of hours.

By 2pm it was 33 degrees and by 4pm I was starting to feel unwell due to the heat. I have a headache and a runny nose and generally feel not so good.

It is 11.30pm and I just woke up drenched in sweat, Tim had turned the air con off when he came to bed. I won’t turn it back on, but I will use the fan in it and see how that goes.

Steps:7,661

Well, it’s Tuesday and we are in for a scorcher, it is currently 25C and we are looking at a top of 38C. My BGL was 4.8

Sue took me to have my hearing checked only to find out there were not opened. I had to reschedule I now go on the 13 Feb.

The temp reached 40C

Tasha’s boarder and friend’s dog was accidently locked outside by Tasha and got sunstroke and had a seizure. Tasha felt so bad she rushed the dog to the vets, that cost $2,500 and she asked Tim if he would loan her $1,600 and he said no.

We had a storm around 7pm but it wasn’t much of a storm and didn’t last long

Steps: 8,480

Here we are at another Wednesday, and it is much cooler then yesterday, it is currently 21C and we are looking at a top temp of only 24C. My BGL was 5.1

Kathy dropped the girls of around 8.45am, Tim is now working this afternoon.

Sue came over around 9.30am and I was able to give her the dress I bought her as well as the top, she really liked the dress, and it looked so nice on her.

Around 1pm Dawson turned up he was here till around 2.30pm, he said he might be back tomorrow to talk to Tim about getting help finding another car.

I have had a rough day my body has been moving a lot all damn day and I am truly exhausted.

Steps: 4,843

Well, it’s Thursday again and thankfully it is going to be another cool day, it is currently 20C with a top of 26C. My BGL was 5.1

It has been a horrible day weather wise, very humid and I don’t like that.

Sandy dropped in to see me she told me she was able to reject the house she was offered in Windale, due to its location.  It was too close to Michelle, and it is a known drug area.

Sandy had emailed the case worker for Landon & Skylar as well as other people with her concerns with the location and it was because of those people she was able to reject the house as they were the ones to contact housing saying the house wasn’t acceptable.

Dawson came over this afternoon to have a chat with Tim about Tim help him find another car.

Tim picked up our new car, it is a Mazda 6, silver in colour and a station wagon.

Steps: 8,140

It is Saturday and the first day of February, I had a 50-minute sleep in as when I got up at 5am I still felt tired so went back to bed setting the timer on my phoned for an hour but after only 50-minutes I felt awake, so I got up.

It is currently 21C and we are looking at a top temp of 27C, with the humidity being 90%

Tim has gone out for the day to his work’s Christmas party, yeah in February, he will be gone all day.

Sandy walked over to see me; she had Skylar with her, she told me that Dave’s car isn’t running and will need to be towed.

Tim got home around 5pm, he said he had a good time.

Steps 11,627

Hello February

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First up you will find my hodgepodge post here: https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/01/hodgepodge-on-wet-day.html

Next you can find my getting to know me post here: https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2025/02/getting-to-know-me.html

Here we are at the start of February, so I am, kicking off the month with some facts about February in Australia:

  • Seasons

In Australia, February is part of summer, which runs from December to February. 

  • Birthdays

People born in February are said to be unique, creative, and generous. Their birthstone is amethyst, and their birth flowers are violet and iris. 

  • Holidays

Some holidays celebrated in February in Australia include Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, and the anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations. 

  • Historical events

Some historical events that happened in February in Australia include:

  • 1793: John Macarthur established Elizabeth Farm at Parramatta 
  • 1798: Matthew Flinders explored the Furneaux Islands in Bass Strait 
  • 1851: Edward Hargraves discovered gold near Bathurst, which started the first Australian gold rush 
  • 1990: Carmen Lawrence became the first female Premier of Western Australia 

In February in Australia, a key special day is the “National Apology Anniversary” on February 13th, which marks the anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generations; additionally, depending on the lunar calendar, Lunar New Year may fall in February, which is widely celebrated in the country. 

Other notable days in February in Australia may include:

  • Lunar New Year: Celebrated by many Asian communities in Australia, the date varies based on the lunar calendar. 
  • World Day of Social Justice: Observed on February 20th. 
  • Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month: The entire month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about ovarian cancer. 

In my own family we have four birthdays in the month starting with my daughter Natasha on the 14th, then my granddaughter Summer on the 21st, next is my great-nephew Daemon on the 22nd and lastly we have his sister my great-niece Thea.

Canada’s National Anthem

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This week we are looking at the national anthem of Canada, the song is called “O Canada”, it was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French-language words were written by the poet and judge Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier.

While “O Canada” is the national anthem of Canada, “God Save The King” is their Royal Anthem. Both songs have multiple verses, though typically only the first verse is sung. The English lyrics of the Royal Anthem are traditional.

The French lyrics were written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier, a poet and judge. 

The English lyrics were written by Robert Stanley Weir, a lawyer and recorder of Montreal. 

“O Canada” became Canada’s official national anthem on July 1, 1980. 

When it comes to the song being sung in schools, it is provincially mandated, but students do not need to sing if a parent or guardian requests that they be exempt.

Many Indigenous peoples view ‘O Canada’ as a harmful reminder of the historical oppression that Indigenous peoples face. 0

It is often sung at sporting events involving Canadian teams, and on Canada Day. English lyrics by Robert Stanley Weir

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love thou dost in us command.
We see thee rising fair, dear land,
The True North, strong and free;
And stand on guard, O Canada,
We stand on guard for thee.

(Refrain)
O Canada! O Canada!
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee,
O Canada! We stand on guard for thee.

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow,
Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow,
How dear to us thy broad domain,
From East to Western sea!
Thou land of hope for all who toil!
Thou True North, strong and free!

(Refrain)

O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies
May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise,
To keep thee steadfast through the years
From East to Western sea,
Our own beloved native land,
Our True North, strong and free!

(Refrain)

Ruler Supreme, Who hearest humble prayer,
Hold our dominion within Thy loving care.
Help us to find, O God, in Thee
A lasting, rich reward,
As waiting for the Better Day,
We ever stand on guard.

(Refrain)

French lyrics by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier

O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix!


Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,


Protégera nos foyers et nos droits,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.


Sous l’oeil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,
Le Canadien grandit en espérant.
Il est né d’une race fière,
Béni fut son berceau:
Le ciel a marqué sa carrière
Dans ce monde nouveau.
Toujours guidé par sa lumière,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau.


De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,
Il porte au front l’auréole de feu.
Ennemi de la tyrannie
Mais plein de loyauté.
Il veut garder dans l’harmonie,
Sa fière liberté;
Et par l’effort de son génie,
Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité,
Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité.


Amour sacré du trône et de l’autel,
Remplis nos coeurs de ton souffle immortel!
Parmi les races étrangères,
Notre guide est la loi;
Sachons être un peuple de frères,
Sous le joug de la foi.
Et répétons, comme nos pères,
Le cri vainqueur: “Pour le Christ et le roi,”
Le cri vainqueur: “Pour le Christ et le roi.”

Official lyrics of “O Canada”

English lyrics

O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command.*

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North, strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.