The Canadian Tulip Festival, now in its 58th year, is May 7-24, 2010, in Ottawa, the country’s capital city. It all began as a tribute to the Canadians after World War II.

The tulips are, of course, a symbol of the beauty of spring — and now they’re also a symbol of international friendship. In the fall of 1945, Princess Juliana of the Netherlands presented Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs. The gift was in appreciation of the safe haven in Ottawa that members of Holland’s exiled royal family received during the Second World War, and in recognition of the role which Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands. During the war, the Dutch royal family was hosted at Government House in Ottawa. Princess Margriet was born at the Ottawa Civic Hospital; her hospital room declared “Dutch soil” and the flag of the Netherlands flew on Parliament’s Peace Tower.

The first Canadian Tulip Festival was held in 1953 and it has now become the world’s largest Tulip Festival. There’s a complete schedule of events online.