Relaxation/Vacation
Did you know it's another 65 dreary days until our next stat holiday?Surely we can do something about thisTomorrow is Groundhog Day. Wake up, Willie, wake up.
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 [ 2007-02-01 ] |
© 2007 JupiterImages Corporation
DO NOT TAKE GROUNDHOG DAY OFF! Not unless your boss is a marmot. Or a wombat.
Sorry. It is not a stat. There is no stat this time of year.
A year ago, I wrote achingly of how Flag Day, Feb. 15, should be an official holiday.
What is more Canadian than that glorious swatch of red and white? Ask any backpacker.
The feds do not see it. They ignored my plea, and those of many other pundits.
So National Flag of Canada Day, honouring our Maple Leaf's first flight in 1965, remains celebrated mostly in the halls of the heritage ministry.
I bet they sneak out early.
Ottawa's stance on this is a disgrace. Few countries go so long between holidays.
Even those hard-working North Koreans get a break. Feb. 16. Kim Jong Il's birthday.
Albertans are no fools, either. Since 1990, they take off the third Monday in February as Family Day. Saskatchewan joins the party this year.
The rest of us slave away, day after grey day, in the wintriest nation on earth.
Go ahead, feel your hypothalamus. No, not there. It's in your head. Lack of sunshine makes it sad.
Symptoms include despair, fatigue, fitful sleep, mood swings and tepid sex drive. All great excuses for a day off.
I guess Flag Day is not good enough for the feds. Groundhog Day may be too silly.
But we need something in February or March. Here are a few suggestions:
Midwinter's Day. How Canadian can you get? A day off to sled, sledge, ski, skate, snowshoe, Ski-Doo and drink beer.
We are The Frozen North. Be proud.
The March full moon would be a good date. This year, March 3. That way we can toboggan 'til the cows come home. Or, even better ...
Hockey Day. The CBC already has broken the ice. Its wonderful Hockey Day in Canada is a dozen hours of our game from backyard rinks to an all-Canadian NHL triple-header.
Move it from January to February. Make it a stat. Let Don Cherry and Ron MacLean run the country for the day.
Valentine's Day: What a great excuse to stay home in bed all day. Know what I mean?
Beaver Day. I know, I know. In Canada, every day should be Beaver Day. But that lovable rodent became our official national symbol by royal assent on March 24, 1975.
Bjarni Herjolfsson Day. The Americans have Columbus Day and that guy got nowhere near the future U.S.
Norseman Bjarni, on the other hand, was the first European to see the True North, or at least Newfoundland and Labrador.
He got lost on the way to Iceland. Date's a bit fuzzy, in 985 or 986 AD. So pick a day to celebrate.
Benito Juarez Day. Never heard of him, either? Born March 21, 1806, Mexico's most beloved president. It's a day off down there.
Juarez said, "Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace." That alone merits a holiday. We could all meet in Acapulco. Raise a toast to free trade.
Norman Bethune Day. March 3. This is a no-brainer.
A billion Chinese already worship the good doctor.
True, he was a Commie, but who cares when it's minus 30 and you want to sleep in?
Prime Ministers' Day. Feb. 11, midway between Sir John A. Macdonald's birthday and Sir John Abbott's. The latter was our first Canadian-born PM.
We should honour our leaders. Mr. Harper, stay home with the kids.
Diversity Day. Too politically correct for some, but look around. Multiculture is as Canadian as pecan pie. Besides, our countrymen from such snowclad lands as Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Cuba and Mexico could use a break.
Couldn't we all. What's the holdup, Ottawa? Need a day off to think about it?
Do you have you a bad boss?