Family Day– February 21, 2022
Canada
Family Day in Canada, the third Monday in February, is technically not a national, federally-mandated vacation. However many Canadians reside in areas that celebrate it as a province-level statutory holiday– in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan as ‘Family Day;’ in Manitoba as ‘Louis Riel Day;’ in Nova Scotia as ‘Nova Scotia Heritage Day,’ and on Prince Edward Island as ‘Islander Day.’ For our purposes, we will refer to the holiday as Family Day from here forward.
HISTORY OF FAMILY DAY
Alberta was the very first province to observe Family Day, back in 1990. As the next couple of years occurred, Saskatchewan and Ontario followed suit. In 2012, British Columbia followed also, altering the date of its event from the second to the third Monday in February a couple of years later to match the date of surrounding provinces’ observances. New Brunswick revealed its holiday in 2018. Manitoba, PEI, and Nova Scotia joined the party in 2007, 2009, 2013, respectively. In Yukon, the already-existing Yukon Heritage Day was considered close enough on the calendar to the new Family Day holiday that no changes were made.
As you might envision, there are no established traditions surrounding Family Day as there are for Christmas and New Year’s Day, for example. But, as the name implies, numerous Canadians take advantage of the three-day weekend in February to spend extra time with loved ones. Road trips, winter season sports getaways, and extended family gatherings are all popular methods to observe the vacation. Celebrants find methods to conquer the cold and have a relaxing and warm Family Day!
FAMILY DAY TIMELINE
1844
A Grassroots Leader
The revolutionary political leader and creator of the province of Manitoba, Louis Riel, is born, to be honored generations later by Canadian school children when they pick the name of Manitoba’s Family Day holiday.
1990
First of its Kind
Alberta is the only canadian and very first province to observe Family Day on the 3rd Monday in February as a statutory holiday, a difference it holds up until 2007.
2008
Aiming High
Federal New Democratic Celebration leader Jack Layton proposes that Family Day end up being a federal Canadian statutory vacation, arguing that postal employees and other federal employees deserve the day of rest just as much as the other workers in their provinces.
2015
Excellent Legislation
‘ Nova Scotia Heritage Day’ is introduced as that province’s Family Day holiday, with the addendum that the day will honor a different individual each year– to start with Viola Desmond, Canadian civil rights hero.
FAMILY DAY FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do any other nations have Family Days?
Yes. Here is the most current list– Australia, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and the U.S. states Nevada and Arizona.
What are the popular foods to cook on Family Day?
It’s open season on what you want to get ready for your brood and good friends, but we do know that on a cold February day in Canada, you can never ever fail with hot chocolate and newly baked cookies.
I notice that Canada’s Family Day coincides with America’s Presidents Day. Do Americans have the day off too?
Yes, Presidents Day, likewise referred to as Washington’s Birthday, is a federal holiday in the U.S., so banks, post offices, and schools are closed.
HOW TO OBSERVE CANADA’S FAMILY DAY
Return in touch with extended family
Odds are that you have a preferred auntie, grandparent, cousin, or uncle who would be overjoyed to re-establish contact and hear all your newest stories. Family Day is the best time to let loved ones understand you think of them often and fondly. You’ll thank yourself.
Host a family party
It doesn’t need to be a complex production. Even a simple family-wide pot luck supper, at the very least, will advise everyone who the very best chefs in the family are. There’s nothing like sharing a homemade meal with individuals close to you, to give you a sense of well-being and belonging.
Reach out to your ‘selected family.’
Let’s face it: a growing number of people who are members of the more recent generations come from inefficient or damaged houses, where the word ‘family’ only conjures emotional stress. If you fit that description, get in touch with a few members of your ‘selected family’– the close friends and allies that are truly the ones you can depend on.
FIVE REMARKABLE FACTS ABOUT LOUIS RIEL
Sequential and influential
Louis Riel’s life– as much as his hanging for treason– was chronicled around the turn of the millennium by Canadian comic-book artist Chester Brown, who received the very first Canada Council for the Arts grant to a sequential-art job.
” Anything you can do …”
The present official statue of Louis Riel, located on the grounds of Winnipeg’s Manitoba Legislative Structure, illustrates him in period clothing and moccasins and is really a replacement for the sculpture from the 1970s that was controversial for its disproportionate body and its nudity.
Disobedience is pricey
Riel was tried in 1885 for his management function in the North-West Rebellion, in which he led the French-speaking Metis individuals against the Canadian government of the time.
” It’s in my blood.”
It’s no wonder that Riel promoted the cause of the Metis individuals; he was one-eighth native Canadian, with a grandma who was complete Franco-Chipewyan Metisse.
Any press is great press?
Throughout his time and well into the 20th century, Riel was often illustrated as nothing more than a treacherous rabble-rouser, despite his settlement for the starting of Manitoba.
WHY WE LOVE CANADA’S FAMILY DAY
It reminds us of what’s truly essential
Whatever the origins and development of Family Day, the meaning of the holiday is right there in its name. What would we do without the people that brought us up, and the siblings and siblings that have existed our entire lives to share in trials and tribulations in addition to triumphes? On Family Day, take a minute to meditate on your blood relations and what they mean to you.
It’s a three-day weekend!
So we don’t get heavy or too deep, anybody who’s still in school or has a Monday-through-Friday job can tell you how incredible a three-day weekend can be for breaking the dullness and giving some charging time. Even if all you do is sleep in on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, we’ll count that as an event!
It’s something our grandparents and/or moms and dads didn’t have
It’s sort of cool to have been around on the establishment of a new provincial vacation. Why not collect a pre-Family Day calendar, and keep it as a collector’s item?
Calendar date of the event Family Day every year? Calendar Family Day from now to 2030 is the date?
When is...? | Date | Day of Week | Days away |
Family Day 2023 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2023 | Tuesday | Happen in 0 days |
Family Day 2024 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2024 | Wednesday | Happen in 0 days |
Family Day 2025 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2025 | Friday | Happen in 310 days |
Family Day 2026 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2026 | Saturday | Happen in 675 days |
Family Day 2027 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2027 | Sunday | Happen in 1040 days |
Family Day 2028 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2028 | Monday | Happen in 1405 days |
Family Day 2029 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2029 | Wednesday | Happen in 1771 days |
Family Day 2030 | Day 21 Month 2 Year 2030 | Thursday | Happen in 2136 days |