Canadian culture is very family oriented, people here love and respect the family values a lot which was the foundation behind having a dedicated day to honor the family. The third Monday of February is celebrated as the Family day in Canada to celebrate the family bonds and spend some time with the family to honor it. Although different provinces have their own names for this day but the purpose of celebrating this festival is same. Also, it is not celebrated in all the provinces and is not the statutory holiday in Canada. Manitoba calls it the Louis Riel Day while in Nova Scotia it is called the Heritage Day, whereas it is referred as Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.
Here is the list of Provinces which celebrate the Family Day:
Alberta: Alberta is the first province which started the tradition of celebrating Family day to show love and respect for the family in 1990. The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Helen Hunley declared it as a statutory holiday so that the people get to spend some time with the family as it increases the respect for family values.
British Columbia: The first proposal to have a family day in BC was put on the table in 1994 but it did not go through and since then there were deliberations and discussions on that. Finally, in the year 2011 the declaration happened that the province will have the Family Day but it will be on the second Monday of the February and that it will begin in the year 2013. However, a consensus on the day was not there and after a lot of discussion on May 28th 2012 it was announced that the third Monday of February in 2013 will be the first Family day for the province and since then it has been followed religiously.
Saskatchewan: It was the second state to have a public holiday to promote the family day in the year 2007 to allow people of the province to spend some quality time with their family members. There was demand from the public as well as the politicians to have it like Alberta but it did not get implemented till 2007.
Ontario: Ontario also had its first Family day in the year 2007, the date was February 19th which was the third Monday of the month. Since then it is the day meant to value the family and to increase its importance in life.
New Brunswick: 2018 was the year when this province celebrated its first Family day which was long due and promised by the Liberal Party in their election campaign. After due diligence since 2016, it was finally announced in 2017 that there will be Family Day in New Brunswick as well just like the other provinces who already celebrate the day.
How Family Day is Celebrated by Canadians:
The Family Day celebrations include spending time with the family members and performing activities involving members of a family to encourage them to understand the value of togetherness. As it is on the 3rd Monday, it allows one to have a long weekend dedicated to family activities and all the members try their best to be together at one place to enjoy the warmth and love that only a family could give. Here is how Canadians usually prefer to celebrate this day:
- People who love to be indoors prefer to have games and activities planned indoor for the family to strengthen the bonds and family ties. It could be cooking together and having a sumptuous meal together or playing board games or singing & dancing together to have an emotionally enriching day.
- The Canadians who like to be outdoors plan family picnics and get-togethers outdoors where they can play sports or have barbeque or do other activities specific to the family traditions. The popular activities are Snowboarding or skiing.
- Apart from that, there are events on this day organized by various restaurants, zoos, societies or event management organizations where you can go with the family to have specially crafted activities for family members of all ages, for example Toronto Zoo Family Day event, AGO Family Day event etc.
Whether you go out or remain indoors, what matters the most is being together and spending time with each other to have stronger relationships which are the true treasure one can have in this materialistic world.