Back in February, I pondered the Canadian concept of vacation and holidays.
Today is provincial holiday: BC Day.
Considering Canadians get a day off every month, I’ve had two thoughts: they’re lazy, or they have a different, perhaps deeper understanding, of time off, than Americans.
I caught some flak for “lazy,” and my intention wasn’t to offend. I’m an American. Our holidays are set: New Year’s Day. Memorial Day. 4th of July. Labor Day. Thanksgiving Day. Christmas Day. There is a long stretch between New Year’s Day on January 1 and Memorial Day on May 31. Unless, of course, you work for a public school or the government. Then you get days like Kazmir Pulaski Day and Abraham Lincoln off, but even Lincoln has been rolled into a President’s Day holiday instead of a stand-alone. Americans don’t let to take days off, and my knee jerk American thought is because we’re not lazy.
Except “lazy” is not the proper term.
The proper term is Balance.
Canadians strike me as having a deeper understanding of time off, and thus are better positioned to act on that ever elusive “balance” we in American talk about endlessly. And Canadians aren’t just better positioned; they actually achieve it. There is a day off for the country, and/or province, almost every month. There might be one month where there isn’t one, but there’s been a campaign, in BC anyway, to rectify that as well. Declare a “Family Day” for that month.
We don’t have the same view on vacation/holidays/time off in the States. And so many of us have the fear, real or imagined, that taking time off is a sign of weakness. The exception being if you have a family and are taking a family vacation, especially if you have little kids. You’re given a pass then.
I noticed being very tense when I made a request for time off in July to go on a family vacation. As if submitting a vacation request, abandoning my post with permission was one step shy of treason. Abandoning without permission being treason. Like the act of even thinking about taking a vacation questions my work ethic. Granted that might have been due to company culture, but the economy seems to have sowed deeper anxiety over taking time off, even if federally mandated. I know people who still work, in some capacity, on Memorial Day or Labor Day. Even the 4th of July.
So today I did a quick Google search on BC Day, and learned the following:
The first Monday of August is known as British Columbia Day, BC Day or B.C. Day, in the province of British Columbia. It is a statutory holiday and gives Canadians in the province the chance to celebrate their achievements or relax with friends and family members.
A statutory holiday to give the people of British Columbia the chance to celebrate achievements and relax with friends and family. The BC government has declared a day of celebration, community and family.
In the States, we commemorate and celebrate veterans, our independence and the contribution of workers. Such celebrations have become jaded as the US has become divided. We talk of achievement, friends and family. We celebrate some things with them, like birthdays, but we don’t have a collective day dedicated to just that.
So this American doesn’t think Canadians are lazy. This American thinks Canadians have a much more balanced approach, and deeper understanding of what is important in life.
And the Province of British Columbia has dedicated a day to it so no one forgets.