By Taylor Johnson (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: June 20, 2012
Between busy work schedules, chaotic class routines and the fleeting “me time” moments, we sometimes forget about the people who got us to where we are. In order to appreciate those people who boost pre-exam egos, tame post-exam trauma and help us through all those student problems in between, sometimes it takes a bit of a reminder. Fortunately the upcoming holiday, Family Day, will serve as just the reminder we need.
After an online pole of over 30,000 people, the BC Liberals have implemented the new holiday, which will be starting on the second Monday in February of 2013. British Columbia will fall in with three other provinces that already celebrate Family Day, Alberta (1990), Saskatchewan (2007) and Ontario (2008).
Why do we need Family Day? The main point to Family Day is gathering as a community to celebrate families. That could be a hot chocolate at a park event, a dinner special at a local restaurant or even a movie night at home with ordered pizza. There are many ways to wind down with family and friends in the dead of winter. BC Premier Christy Clark stated in a January 2011 press release, “I think Family Day would be a great chance for families to renew themselves and a reward for all the hard work that is done by BC workers.”
Some might worry that an extra holiday will take away from jobs, or maybe even result in a loss of jobs. Family Day will be a statutory holiday and with the recent drastic jump of the minimum wage, the employers’ pocket books will be forced to stretch that much further. However to counter this, BC’s Family Day will not be celebrated the same as other provinces, but a week earlier, in hopes that line ups will be smaller and Family Day will not conflict with other holidays such as Presidents’ Day. The profit generated from Family Day will not be tied in with other holidays.
For students, Family Day might serve as a reminder to appreciate the people we sometimes forget in our hectic schedules, the unconditional people, the ones we take for granted. Family Day can be that one day out of the year we put aside our pens, binders, textbooks and—dare I say—our cell phones to spend time with the people that really matter, be it phone call to distant relatives you haven’t talked to in a while, a coffee date with a close friend or dinner with your parents and siblings.
Unlike Valentine’s Day and St. Patricks’ Day, this new holiday will surely not cut into the rest of the year, nor will it be the cause of cheesy holiday cards, teddy bears or TV programs. Standing out from other holidays, Family Day will simply serve as a common reminder to everyone that no matter how far from home you might be, or how busy your calendar might look, there is always time for friends and family.
