Family Day will soon be here again!
Held the third Monday of February, Family Day returns on Feb.16. It is a time to celebrate your family and other families – your community.
Communities throughout the region have special events planned for the Family Day weekend.
By definition, a family is a basic unit of society comprised of two parents and their children. It also includes extended family over generations.
Family Day started in Alberta in 1990 when then-premier Don Getty established the day aimed to emphasize the importance of family values.
It has also become a holiday to break up the cold long winter – and this winter has sure been one of the harshest in Alberta for many years.
Family is more than just father and mother brothers and sisters.
I don’t have any relatives close by. My brother lives in St. Albert.
I have never married and don’t have a family of my own, but I still have a family.
My home church is my family.
For other people, their family could be in their neighbourhood, children’s school, community or sports organization or team. When you are part of a group of people and you feel you belong and are loved and respected – that’s your family. Those are the people you can count on to love, care and support you and they can count of you.
“We are family.”
Reading the column may inspire some people to break out in that song sung and written by Sister Sledge to celebrate the Sledge sisters’ family bond.
Other lyrics in the song refer being together, close.
“We’re giving love in a family dose.”
Family Day is not something to celebrate just one day of the year. Focus on the family every day.
Parents have a valuable role to raise their children.
But it also takes a village to raise a child.
Cherish all the great and memorable times you have with your home family.
Many people have countless memories of good times with family. I remember so many times with family at home growing up. Most of those included summer holiday vacations to Penticton each year, travelling to Vancouver Island and Saskatchewan.
I also recall great memories at church, school and community events and activities.
Since I moved to Alberta from British Columbia in 2002, I value the times I was able to be with my parents. My brother and I went back home every few years to Chilliwack while Mom and Dad travelled to Alberta in the early years of living in Alberta.
Whatever you do, make every effort to make and have lasting positive memories with your family.
The last time I saw my dad before before he died in January 2025 was in July 2019 when his three single sons took him on a week-long holiday in Revelstoke.
While he was in hospital in 2023, Mom says the nurses told her Dad talked so much about that time with his sons. We three sons were happy that Dad enjoyed that time – and wished we had done it more often. Those are the times you want to remember after our loved ones leave us.
My mother recently moved into a long-term facility in Chilliwack. Last week, we started to reconnect by phone twice a week.
When we talked on Thanksgiving, she said she is thankful that her children visit and phone her. Make every moment – every memory – with family count.
Spend time with your family.
As we celebrate Family Day, take in one or more events in local communities around the regions where we live.
Richard Froese