Family Day – Public Holidays around the World that Celebrate the Family

I recently found out that there are a bunch of progressive Governments that have recognised the importance of family ties by declaring “Family Day” public holidays.

These Family Days take place in countries all over the world and are generally created to recognise the important role that family plays in modern society.

Below are some examples of Family Day public holidays that I’ve discovered:

If you’re in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the capital of Australia, you get a public holiday on the 1^st Monday of the September/October school holidays. The good news if you’re reading this from the ACT is that you get next Monday off work! Though you probably already knew that…

 The rationale behind the public holiday was explained to the ACT Legislative assembly as follows:

“…to enable workers to take a break from their hectic working lives and to spend some quality time with their family and friends. …”

Nice.

In Canada, approximately 2/3rds of the country observes a statutory holiday on the third Monday of February, which coincides with the US holiday Presidents Day. The holiday is called Family Day in three provinces, Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, and Islander Day in Prince Edward Island.

In South Africa, the Easter Monday holiday has been known as Family since 1995.

In the United States, Arizona has a state holiday called “American Family Day” that is celebrated on the first Sunday in August

Finally, the small pacific island of Vanuatu has a Family Day which is celebrated on December 27th every year.

Do you know of any official Family Day public holidays that we’ve missed?

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img src = “Minneapolis Institute of Arts“