I heard on the radio there was an online petition asking the provincial government to change the day of the Family Day holiday to the third Monday of February from its current position on the second Monday of the month.
Investment advisors were at a loss because markets were open on our day off and closed this past Monday when we were working. As well, the differing dates were awkward for firms that operated on a national basis.
So I decided to look up who did what.
We still use a standard monthly calendar at the Siba household. The kind where you can write in your appointments and allocated time for the month. I find it much more useful and user friendly than my electronic ones. You can see the month at a glance and it can even be educational, which it certainly was for this week.
For most of Canada, this was a short week. But not in B.C. For some bizarre reason when Family Day was established as a mid-winter holiday in British Columbia, the day chosen for it was the second Monday in February. Every other province that has a February holiday celebrates it on the third Monday of the month. Yukon Territory, however, has Heritage Day this Friday.
So this year, this past Monday was a holiday for the Prairie provinces, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We here in B.C. had our Family Day a week earlier. In Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, the holiday is called Family Day. In Nova Scotia, it is called Heritage Day, and in PEI, Islander Day.
Manitoba surprisingly calls the day Louis Riel Day in honour of the leader of the Métis in the Red River and the North-west Rebellions. Riel was eventually hung for treason by the Canadian government, an action that caused a rift between French and English Canadians. Now Riel is honoured as the founder of Manitoba. It's amazing how views can change with the passage of time.
So why is B.C. out of step with
the other Family Days et al? Might we say that the current provincial government is very "provincial"? Personally, I find the current regime rather embarrassing. It is too bad that John Cummins, our ex-member of Parliament, failed to resuscitate the B.C. Conservative Party.
Checking the month's calendar showed this was a week of many special occasions. Besides the nation's Monday holidays and our missing one, this week includes Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras), Ash Wednesday and Chinese (Lunar) New Year.
Mardi Gras translates to Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday for us as kids was known as Pancake Tuesday. It marks the last day to live it up before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. As such it marks the end of Carnival season. Lent is always 46 days long starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter.
Then on Thursday comes Chinese New Year. This would seem to offset the aims of Ash Wednesday, which started just the day before.
Be that as it may, we wish our readers Gung Hay Fat Choy and enjoyment of whatever holidays you may partake in.
