Consider the opening of Robert Altman’s movie Nashville – set during America’s bi-centennial – where one of the characters is seen in a recording studio singing a song with the refrain “We must have done something right to last 200 years”.

Or perhaps consider the opening lines of Charles Dicken’s novel, A Tale of two Cities, written in 1859: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other place ……”

Which one would you choose to mark Canada’s anniversary of the signing of the British North American Act?  Canadians are seen, mostly, as an “agreeable” people, and so perhaps you’d prefer a compromise and take something from each of them to describe our 150th birthday. Or perhaps you would propose something altogether different.

Canada went all out in 1967 to mark its first ever centenary with the grand spectacle that was Expo 67. Now we're halfway to the next centenary, the sesquicentennial.  Already the celebratory rhetoric has taken over: "an unforgettable year of celebration…", "…a magnificent year-long party…" And on it goes, and will certainly keep on going all year long.

Across the country people are doing some grand and spectacular things to mark the occasion. igNation – being just 146 years younger than Canada (!) –  has decided to go for something completely different.

Earlier this year, igNation invited some 80 people to do some thinking about not only this country that they live in, but also their feelings about it. Not misty-eyed nostalgia about the past (well, maybe some nostalgia), but more in the line of thoughtful discernment about where we are now, where we might be headed, and when combined, what all of that makes us feel.

One-in-two is not a bad response! Over 40 people from Vancouver to St. John’s, ages 18 to 93, accepted the invitation.  Some of the respondents were born in Canada, others arrived here. In either case, both they and the country have changed profoundly in the years since they arrived in Canada, no matter how long ago (or recent ) that may be. Each of those who accepted the invitation has written – each in their own way – about what it means to them to be Canadian.

You can read their responses in a new series on igNation entitled “Canada 150 & Me.”  The first response will be posted on Thursday May 4.*  The  remaining pieces will  be posted each  Monday and Thursday until the series is complete.

The responses from these 40 participants are thoughtful.  Some are provocative. And some might not challenge your own views. And, of course, igNation invites its readers to add any comments and responses to anything they read in this blog. Please feel free to send in your own.  Just click on the Add Comment button at the bottom of each posting.

So, sit back on Thursday and enjoy as the wild sesquicentennial rumpus begins!

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*Canadian Catholic factoid: May 4 in the Canadian Catholic calendar is the day Canadians are invited to remember the Canadian-born educator: Élodie Paradis, otherwise known as Mother Marie-Léonie (1840-1912). Born in Acadie when it was known as Upper Canada, she went on to found The Little Sisters of the Holy Family. She was beatified in 1984 by Pope/Saint John Paul II for her pioneering work in religious formation as well as lay education.