Canadians have never been thought of as boastful, loud, or spirited. I'm sorry, but we tend to be the quiet neighbours to the north, something of a curiosity, at times referred to as "the socialists", and apparently we all are born with hockey sticks in our hands. We eat poutine, drink maple syrup, and have pet polar bears running on tread mills to power our igloos (and yes I jumped from sarcasm to hyperbole in one small sentence; we actually find the stereotypes quite amusing). We are renowned for our lumberjacks (cue Monty Python pls), Mounties in red serge, "monopoly money" for our currency, and my personal favourite "free" universal health care. We are considered a peaceful nation and we share the longest undefended border in the world with the U.S.A. However, Canadians have also had an identity crisis. Our military is muuuucccchhh smaller than that of the US, we are highly dependent on your entertainment media, and I would hazard to guess most of us--if not all of us--know at the very least most of the words to your national anthem as we hear it so frequently when we watch sporting events taking place in the U.S. At times we get caught up in the American pageantry in lieu of our own.
But this all shifted during the Canadian Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver in 2010. Canada embraced these games and Canadian Pride surged. The Oxford Online Dictionary (serious Canadians often prefer Oxford over Webster's) defines pride as: "A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired." I would argue that pride is also associated with identity, self-esteem, and loyalty. Due to the media consortium in place for these games and the significant advancements in the world of telecommunications, Canadians at large connected with our athletes in ways we have never been able to in the past, and celebrated the personal successes of our athletes. We became stake holders in our national team that year.
Now when a country applies to host an Olympic games, it is a strategic goal of the games to instill an increase in the National Pride, particularly if the games are successful. Additionally, pride by its nature is a self promoting feeling; the better one feels about your allegiance, the more pride you will feel, and so on. That the Olympics are a contest generates additional excitement, also a positive emotion. Our national team had a very high medal count during that Winter games, and thus many discourses deemed the games a success, at least for Canada (others may argue that the games were not a success as tax payers are still paying for many of the venues, but that is a different argument altogether). However, I would argue that pride crossed from the realm of sporting identity to that of a national identity that included success. For once Canadians celebrated themselves! In the lead up to the games, the torch relay crossed Canada and managed to reach 95% of the Canadian population.** Media itself had achieved technological advancements that permitted multiple online streams of events during the games. This resulted in broader access to live events that would otherwise be covered in sound bites during news updates. Social media was also utilised by the Vancouver Olympic Committee by means of Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, all of which acted to increase the audience engagement and connection to the games. In a country who prides itself as a cultural mosaic rather than a melting pot, this Olympics made Canadians feel they were connected with Canada and Canadians in a common goal.
During the 2010 Olympics a very simple, understated, and very recognizable sign emerged that represented this new found Canadian Pride; the Olympic Mittens.
These Hudson Bay Company Vancouver 2010 mittens signified support for the Canadian Olympic athletes, and became so popular, even Oprah Winfrey was swept up in the frenzy. The mitten has now become an annual tradition of sorts across Canada, no longer representing the 2010 Winter Olympics, but rather Canadians/Canada.
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| 2011 model |
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| 2013 version |
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| 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games |
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| This venture (showing 2015 design) has become an annual fundraiser for Canadian athletes since it's inception in 2009 and as of the fall of 2014 more than $26 million dollars had been raised (not bad for a country whose population is just over 35 million). |
The intent of the mitten was to both show support for the Canadian athletes competing in the Olympic Games and to raise money for Canadian Athletes, however the mittens have taken on a new mythos that imply not just national sporting team support but Canadian Pride. Every fall The Bay and its subsidiary companies sell these mittens. They have become a winter fashion statement. These modest mittens are worn proudly to winter events, not just sporting events, to demonstrate pride for our country. They lack the physical presence of jerseys, but their diminutive size is made up for with their bold designs. They have become a symbol that demonstrates inclusiveness and participation in Canada's national identity.
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| my own pair of 2010 mittens still with their tag! ( I have another pair that I use) |
For a country, so accustomed to living in the shadow of their American neighbour, these little mittens have taken on a higher meaning; not only do they keep our hands warm throughout our endless and bitterly cold winters, they signify a pride for our country and all that we represent on the world stage.
* 10 points to those who recognize all of my sarcasm embedded in this blog post!
**The Torch Relay selected a route that would see the torch come to within 1 hour travel time to 95% of the country's population. This does not mean 95% of Canadians participated, but they had the option to do so and this translated to media coverage in much smaller, unnoticed communities across Canada. The little guys had their 15 minutes of fame and felt more connected to the upcoming games.
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