Flag of Canada with a black border (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With today being Family Day in Ontario, I would like to ask the question: should we call today Family Day or make it a formal holiday in honour of Flag Day?
Personally, I am calling for the name of the day to be changed to Flag Day.
Currently Flag Day, formally known as the National Flag of Canada Day, is celebrated on February 15th. The day commemorates that proclamation of Canada’s flag, the Maple Leaf, on February 15th 1965. However, currently this is not an official holiday and I believe that it is time that the holiday be made an official holiday.
Most provinces now allow for a holiday in mid-February. Provinces that do this are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. In most of these provinces, the day is simply known as Family Day, while in PEI it is known as Islander Day. In Manitoba, the day is named after Louis Riel. Yet, no one calls it Flag Day, something that would be patriotic, and that would be applicable. While PEI calls it Islander Day, at least this is an improvement over ‘Family Day.’
As Flag Day is February 15th, and Family Day is always around the February 15th, I think it is time for Ontario, and the other provinces, to declare the Monday closest to February 15th as Flag Day in honour of Canada’s flag and to give Canadians another reason to be proud of their country.
Our athletes compete under our flag (and what true Canadian isn’t proud of our athletes currently competing at the Winter Olympics.) And our military proudly defends our values under our flag. As let’s celebrate a great symbol of our country and rename Family Day as Flag Day and celebrate all of Canada, the greatest ‘family’ of them all.
Edward Brain's Blog 