Calixa Lavallée

Calixa Lavallée was a super talented musician born a long, long time ago in Canada. He loved music so much that he played in a band during a big war called the American Civil War. But his most amazing creation was a song that would later become the national anthem of Canada! It's a song everyone in Canada sings to show they love their country.

Calixa was born in 1842, way before your grandparents were born! He grew up in a place called the Province of Canada. Even though he played music during a serious time in the Civil War, he always dreamed of creating beautiful music. He worked hard, and in 1880, he wrote the music for a song that was first sung in French. This song was so catchy and inspiring!

Calixa's music is super important because it's the tune for 'O Canada,' the national anthem! It took many years, until 1980, for the song to officially become Canada's anthem. That's almost 100 years after Calixa wrote it! It's like a special song that unites all Canadians and reminds them of their home.

The music Calixa wrote is still the same today, but the words have changed a tiny bit over time. When the song first became the anthem, some English words were added or changed. Then, even more recently, in 2018, there was another small change to the English lyrics. But the heart of the song, the music Calixa created, has stayed just as he wrote it!