Yvonne,

    I am so embarrassed. I said oak leaf with such authority. Micheal Collis
already pointed out it is Maple. LOL.

    I got that story while teaching in Calgary; although it did come from
another Yank.
You are correct in that you are the only ones "officially" who kicked our
**sses in 1812.
I must Uncle Ho's little guys did a pretty good job of it in Nam. But that was
not a "war".


Bobby

Yvonne Craig wrote:

> You Americans... (chuckle, chuckle... as she shakes her head...)  Oak =
> leaf, Bobby? Betty? lol!!
>
> And no, Bobby. Yankees were not responsible for our flag in any way... We =
> just kicked your *ss in the war of 1812. LOL. No excuses about red leaves =
> camouflaging anyone. (Inject note of Northern pride here) I do believe we =
> are the only country in the world to officially win a war against the US =
> (though technically we were British then...) But still...  :-P
>
> There is a site you may want to check out if you are interested in =
> Canadian history (yes we have one<smile>) and trivia tidbits:
>
> http://canada.gc.ca/canadiana/cdaind_e.html=20
>
> I have included 2 excerpts below re the origin of our flag (the maple leaf =
> and the red and white) from the ceremonial and Canadian symbols section.
>
> Seems strange to think that, as familiar as the Maple leaf is as a symbol =
> of this country, the flag was not officially adopted til 1965. I was 2 and =
> a half years old!  :-)
>
> Yvonne
>
> ***************************************************************************=
> ****************************************************
> "The maple leaf was historically used from the early days of Canada to =
> symbolize the land and its people. It was first proposed as an emblem of =
> Canada in 1834 when the Soci=E9t=E9 Saint-Jean-Baptiste was founded; =
> shortly thereafter, in 1836, Le Canadien, a newspaper published in Lower =
> Canada, referred to it as a suitable emblem for Canada.=20
>
> "It was also used in the decorations for the visit of the Prince of Wales =
> to Canada in 1860. It appears on the coats of arms granted to Quebec and =
> Ontario in 1868 and as a distinctive emblem on the royal arms of Canada =
> proclaimed in 1921. The maple leaf was for many years the symbol of the =
> Canadian Armed Forces and was used to identify Canadian contingents in the =
> two world wars. But it wasn't to receive official status until the =
> National Flag of Canada was proclaimed by Her Majesty the Queen in 1965. "
>
> ***************************************************************************=
> ***************************************************
>
> "Dr. Stanley's design is based on a strong sense of Canadian history. The =
> combination of red, white and red first appeared in the General Service =
> Medal issued by Queen Victoria. Red and white were subsequently proclaimed =
> Canada's national colours by King George V in 1921. Three years earlier, =
> Major General (later the Honourable) Sir Eugene Fiset had recommended that =
> Canada's emblem be the single red maple leaf on a white field - the device =
> worn by all Canadian Olympic athletes since 1904. =20
>
> "The committee eventually decided to recommend the single-leaf design, =
> which was approved by resolution of the House of Commons on December 15, =
> 1964, followed by the Senate on December 17, 1964, and proclaimed by Her =
> Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, to take effect on February =
> 15, 1965. "=20
>
> ***************************************************************************=
> ****************************************************