We’ve been doing it for years – celebrating Canada Day in Florida. I’m not Canadian, but my entire household is, so I celebrate with them. In honor of the holiday, here are some fun facts about our friendly neighbors to the north, my own observations… and some cute pics of my little Canadians.

My observations:

It’s so hard to talk weather or distance with the in-laws. They don’t do Fahrenheit, they do Celsius. They don’t do miles, they do kilometers. (And math isn’t my thing.)

It’s a stereotype that Canadians are polite people who are passionate about hockey. (Stereotypes exist for a reason, right?)

In Canada, there is no “Black Friday” but there is a “Boxing Day” and it’s the day after Christmas. (Their Thanksgiving is also earlier.)

They spell differently than we do. They put the letter “u” in words like colour and favourite.

They recycle. Everything…. Every. Single. Thing. (Even what’s left over of the lobster.)

Americans call it “college.” Canadians call it “university.” Americans call it “kindergarten.” Canadians call it “grade primary.”

As you can see, Canadians have their own language that I have slowly learned over the years. Here’s some more:

• “eh” (which you add at the end of your sentence as a friendly short-cut for “don’t you agree?”)
• “washroom” (which is a bathroom… and the Tim Horton’s in the U.S. use this term on their signs… I recently noticed since marrying a Canadian)
• “housecoat” (it’s a robe)
• “zed” (the letter “z”)
• “giv’r” (someone who give 100%)
• “toque” (a beanie)
• “darts” (cigarettes)
• “mountie” (a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
• “beauty” (someone who has a funny or crazy personality)
• “brutal” (something that sucks or is just unfair)
• “Timmy’s” (Tim Horton’s)
• “double-double” (Tim Horton’s coffee with two creams and two sugars)
• “the states” (U.S.A.)
• “garberator” (garbage disposal)
• “two-four” (a case of beer)

Fun Facts:

35 million people live in Canada. (319 million people live in the United States.)

Behind Russia, Canada is the second largest country in the world.

Canada has the world’s longest coastline, bordered on three sides by three different oceans: the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific.

There are more lakes in Canada than any other country in the world.

Remember the Blackberry? It was developed in Ontario.

Basketball was invented by a Canadian – Dr. James Naismith.

I would never want to stay here, but this sounds cool. The Hotel de Glace in Quebec is built every year using 400 tons of ice and 12,000 tons of snow. Every summer it melts away and every winter it is rebuilt.

We can thank Canada for Winnie the Pooh because a bear cub named Winnipeg was exported from Canada to the London Zoo in 1915. (A little boy named Christopher Robin Milne loved to visit Winnipeg (or Winnie for short) and his love for the bear cub inspired the stories written by his father, A.A. Milne, about Winnie-the-Pooh.)

Canada holds the record for the most gold medals ever won at the Winter Olympics, since taking 14 Golds at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Actor Leslie Nielsen is Canadian and his brother Erik was the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada for two years, from 1984 to 1986. (Americans, that’s like the Vice President.)

Other famous Canadians include Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Avril Lavigne, Keanu Reeves and Jim Carrey.