The Saying and the Season

April rains bring May flowers\” is a common saying in Canada, especially as everyone awaits the spring showers to help wash away the winter snow that had been shoveled into little mounds around their homes. Whether it rains or not, the plants—especially tulips and daffodils—sprout by the end of April, marking the beginning of spring.

In 2015, however, we did not receive many showers in April, and it had a telling effect on the quality and size of the tulip plants and flowers. In our garden too, this effect was visible. The tulips and daffodils did not perform too well.

The Origins of Tulips

Tulips originated in Persia and Turkey and were brought to Europe in the 16th century. Their common name derives from the Turkish word for gauze (with which turbans were wrapped), reflecting the turban-like appearance of a tulip in full bloom. By the 17th century, the popularity of tulips—particularly in the Netherlands—soared to such heights that the price of a single bulb skyrocketed, causing markets to crash and giving rise to ‘tulip mania’. Many are said to have sold their houses and fortresses during this frenzy.

The Language of Tulips

Different tulip colours carry different meanings: yellow symbolises cheerful thoughts, white conveys forgiveness, and purple represents royalty. The red tulip became associated with love through a Turkish legend in which a prince named Farhad was love-struck by a maiden named Shirin. When Farhad learned that Shirin had been killed, he was so overcome with grief that he rode his horse over the edge of a cliff. It is believed that a scarlet tulip sprang up from each droplet of his blood, giving the red tulip the meaning of “perfect love”. The tulip is also the flower for the eleventh wedding anniversary. It is said that the tulip’s velvety black centre represents a lover’s heart, darkened by the heat of passion.

Our Garden Festival

For all our neighbours, friends, and family, our garden becomes a place of celebration; many call it the Tulip Festival.

The Canadian Tulip Festival

Close by in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, the largest tulip festival in North America is held every May. This festival is a celebration founded on international friendship with the Netherlands, the home of tulips. It all began in 1945 with the presentation of 100,000 tulip bulbs from Princess Juliana of the Netherlands to Ottawa, in appreciation of the safe haven that members of the Dutch exiled royal family received during World War II in Ottawa, and in recognition of the role Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands. Since then, the tulip has become Ottawa’s official flower. Each spring, the National Capital Region blooms with magnificent tulip beds planted by the National Capital Commission, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors. As a thank-you gift, the Netherlands sends more than a million tulips to Ottawa every year.

The Canadian Tulip Festival is also a celebration of the return of spring, with over a million tulips in fifty varieties blooming in public spaces across the city. The highest concentration of tulips can be viewed in the flower beds of Commissioners Park on the banks of Dow’s Lake, where 300,000 flowers bloom. During the festival, the international community adds to the pageantry and programming with cultural displays and performances reflecting the diversity of the National Capital community.

A Hero’s Journey: The 2015 Delegation

In 2015, during the Tulip Festival, an official Canadian delegation led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper—consisting mainly of veterans and their relatives—travelled to the Netherlands to attend ceremonies honouring the sacrifices Canadian soldiers made when they liberated the Dutch from Nazi occupation seventy years earlier. About a dozen veterans, most in their nineties and frail, flew to the Netherlands in a Canadian Armed Forces plane. The aircraft flew transatlantic at an unusually low altitude—around 12,000 feet—to avoid a situation where rapid cabin depressurization might irreparably harm an elderly passenger without the speed or strength to put on an oxygen mask.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines also flew Canadian Second World War veterans and their families from the airline’s five Canadian gateways—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton—to the Netherlands for the commemorative celebrations. The biggest delegation, consisting of 300 participants including some forty veterans, left from Toronto on May 1. The youngest veteran was eighty-eight (he had been only fifteen when he fought, having forged his documents), and the oldest was ninety-seven. They were greeted in the boarding area by the flight crew for a pre-departure ceremony. Inside the aircraft, the airline had personalised the seat headrests with Canadian and Dutch flags. The group was acknowledged on numerous occasions during the flight with special announcements, and the crew handed out keepsake souvenirs to the passengers.

John Gay: A Cook’s Story

John Gay, pictured above, a cook during WWII, was one of the oldest veterans on that flight, aged ninety-seven. He was part of the artillery and helped liberate the city of Caen and the Falaise Gap. He cooked for soldiers in England and Normandy, which grew increasingly difficult due to food supplies; he had to make do with dehydrated potatoes, dehydrated cabbage, and a meat called Spam. He could cook six gallons of stew and would distribute it to soldiers in cans. John was visiting the Netherlands for the tenth time that year, travelling with his son and other family members.

Making the Flight Special

To make this flight extra special and show the veterans how much they are appreciated and respected, arrangements were made to honour them. Special cakes decorated with Dutch and Canadian flags were prepared. Flight attendants handed out carnation flowers and pinned them with gratitude and respect. Every veteran received a Delftsblauw salt and pepper shaker set. There were special headrest covers. When they landed at Schiphol Airport, the plane was escorted to the gate, and the fire brigade welcomed them with a water cannon salute—also known as the “Shower of Affection.” Just before landing, bagpipe music filled the aircraft.

The Ceremony at Holten

On Monday, May 4, 2015, the delegation of veterans attended a ceremony at the Holten Canadian War Cemetery. The cemetery is the final resting place for 1,393 Commonwealth soldiers who died during the liberation campaign, many of whom were killed in the late stages of the war as the Allies cleared the Netherlands and pushed into Germany. The village of Holten was liberated by Canadians on April 8, 1945, after fierce house-to-house fighting.

Prime Minister Harper said that the bond forged between Canada and the Netherlands in those dark days still endures. He recalled that each headstone in every cemetery is a stark reminder that doing the right thing often comes at a great cost—but a cost that must be paid. Harper spoke of the great sacrifices made by the now-dwindling wartime generation, saying they understood that some things were worth fighting and dying for—a sentiment that remains today. He added that the heroes who liberated the Netherlands, like the men and women who serve our country today, understood that when a great evil arises—a threat to all the things that define our existence as a free and just people—such enemies must be confronted.

Conclusion: A Timeless Promise

I would conclude by quoting from the speech delivered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper during that visit:

“When tyranny threatens the free, when cruelty torments the innocent, when desperation overwhelms the human spirit, we choose to respond. We choose the high road forward, not the easy way out. We choose risk not for reward, but for righteousness. We choose to fight for freedom. We choose to defend the innocent. We choose to bring hope to the world.

Canadians will never forget the welcome our troops received in this country as the war ended. Canadians will never cease to marvel at how this starving and scarred land so quickly became the prosperous, progressive, and generous country we know today—a partner in so many things, including liberty itself.”