Family Day is a public holiday in the countries of Angola, Israel, South Africa, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Vietnam; in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

; in the Canadian provinces of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Ontario,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and soon

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

; in the American states of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

; and as the second day of

Songkran Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam an ...

in Thailand.

Australia

Australian Capital Territory

''Family and Community Day'' was celebrated on the first Tuesday of November from 2007 to 2009, coinciding with the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

. This public holiday was declared in 2007.

Andrew Barr Andrew James Barr (born 29 April 1973) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the 7th Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory since 2014. He has been an Australian Labor Party member in the ACT Legislative Assembly sin ...

, then ACT Minister for Industrial Relations, stated the purpose of the new public holiday was: "...to enable workers to take a break from their hectic work and to spend some quality time with their family and friends. ... Australians do work the longest hours of any country in the western world. We do deserve a break." In the years 2010–2016, the date was moved to the first Monday of the September/October school holidays. Where the first Monday of the school holidays falls on the ACT Labour Day

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...

(first Monday in October), the holiday is moved to the second Monday of the ACT school holidays. In 2018, Family and Community Day will no longer be a public holiday in the ACT. Replacing it is Reconciliation Day, held on the first Monday on or after May 27.

Angola

Celebrated on December 25.

Canada

Nearly two-thirds of Canadians reside in a province that observes a statutory holiday on the third Monday of February. The holiday is called ''Family Day'' in five provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan), ''Louis Riel Day'' in Manitoba, and ''Islander Day'' in Prince Edward Island. There is no federally established Family Day. This holiday was first observed in Alberta in 1990, followed by Saskatchewan in 2007 and Ontario in 2008. On May 28, 2012, the BC government announced that Family Day would be observed on the second Monday in February each year, starting February 11, 2013. In February 2018, the BC government announced that Family Day would move to the third Monday in February from 2019 onward, aligning the holiday with other Canadian provinces. In April 2017, the NB government announced the family statutory holiday to begin in February 2018. As a new holiday, there are no traditional activities that are associated with the day. Canadians use the long weekend for whatever purpose they like. In at least British Columbia, the decision to add this public holiday was due to the lengthy gap between the New Year's Day and Good Friday public holidays. Otherwise, Canadian provinces have a public holiday at least every other month. Family Day is unrelated to

National Family Week National Family Week originated in Canada and takes place the week before Thanksgiving every year. It was proclaimed an official week by the government of Canada in 1985. National Family Week is celebrated throughout the country with special events ...

, a campaign put on each October by the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs.

Israel

In the 1990s, the last day of

Shevat Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard ''Šəvaṭ'', Tiberian ''Šeḇāṭ''; from Akkadian ''Šabātu'') is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew cale ...

was declared Family Day ( he, יום המשפחה, rtl=yes) in Israel.

South Africa

After 1995,

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

was renamed Family Day.

United States

Family Day is a state holiday in

, celebrated on the day after

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, i.e. the Friday following the fourth Thursday in November.

American Family Day American Family Day is the 14th state-recognized holiday in Arizona, Title 1-301. American Family Day, much like Mothers Day or Father's Day is a non-paid holiday established as a separate day to appreciate family members by spending time with th ...

is a state holiday in

and has been celebrated on the first Sunday in August since 1978.

Uruguay

In Uruguay, the public holiday on December 25 is officially known as Family Day () rather than Christmas, for the sake of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

Vanuatu

Family Day in Vanuatu is celebrated annually on December 26, traditionally

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

, as a day on which school and work are suspended to spend the day giving thanks for and enjoying time with one's family, often by engaging in civic and religious events and a festive meal.

Vietnam

Vietnamese Family Day ( vi, Ngày gia đình Việt Nam) occurs on the 28th of June each year, having been established in 2001. Family-oriented activities and events are organised throughout the country, though it is not a public holiday.

References

{{U.S. Holidays Types of secular holidays February observances September observances October observances November observances December observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Christian festivals and holy days Family member holidays he:יום המשפחה