In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany. He was a very evil man and committed many horrible crimes against the people of Europe. In 1940, he attacked the peaceful nation of Holland.
The people of Holland, called the Dutch, were forced to become part of Germany. They had to live under German law and do whatever the German soldiers told them to do.
If the German soldiers wanted their food or blankets, they had to give them up.
After the Germans defeated the Dutch, the queen of Holland had to leave the country. Queen Wilhelmina , her daughter, and granddaughters all escaped to London. But London was not very safe either. Hitler and his army were bombing London every night.
So, Queen Wilhelmina sent her daughter, Princess Juliana, and her granddaughters to live in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. In Ottawa, the Canadian people took very good care of the princess and her daughters.
However, Queen Wilhelmina did not come to Canada. Even though it was very dangerous, she stayed in London. She would send radio messages to the people of Holland. She would tell them not to give up.
In Ottawa, Princess Juliana had a baby girl. To celebrate, the Canadians raised the Dutch flag and played the Dutch national anthem. It was a wonderful feeling for the princess.
The queen heard about the celebration and announced the exciting news on her radio broadcast. When the people of Holland heard this news, they were very thankful to the Canadians.
Then, in 1944, the Canadian soldiers came to Holland and helped defeat the German army. The people of Holland were even more grateful for this. The people wanted to thank the Canadians for taking care of their princess and for helping defeat Hitler's army.
Princess Juliana presented the city of Ottawa with 100,000 tulip bulbs.
Holland is famous for its beautiful tulips. The country is covered with tulips every spring. So, the gift of tulips to Canada was a true sign of friendship.
Tulips grow in the early spring and then die just before summer. But the tulip bulbs do not die. They stay in the earth. Every spring they blossom into beautiful new tulips again.
Every year, the Queen of Holland sends 10,000 more tulips to Ottawa. Now, after more than fifty years of sending them, Ottawa is full of tulips. Every spring, Ottawa celebrates with a festival.
The Canadian Tulip Festival is the largest tulip festival in the world.
The city of Ottawa is not only the capital city of Canada, it is also the capital city of tulips.
Princess Juliana, who became Queen Juliana, attended the tulip festival during a royal visit in 1967. The tulips in Ottawa have become a beautiful sign of the friendship between these two countries.