In most parts of Canada, Monday is a holiday. In P.E.I., it’s Islander Day. In Nova Scotia, it’s Heritage Day. Manitoba is celebrating Louis Riel Day. But in several other provinces, Monday is Family Day.

Here at The Conversation Canada, we’re all in favour of any holiday in February. It comes at about the mid-section of winter and so a short break as we look ahead to spring is always welcome. Family Day was first celebrated in Alberta in 1990. Saskatchewan, Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick followed over the years.

Interestingly, this provincial statutory holiday coincides with U.S. Presidents’ Day, which for some reason is always associated with selling mattresses. What if we had a Prime Ministers’ Day? What would retailers sell for that? The mind boggles.

For your Family Day reading pleasure, I’ve assembled a collection of family-related stories from across The Conversation’s global network.

There’s one other thing I wanted to mention: The Conversation Canada and La Conversation Canada underwent a website redesign this week. You can check out the new look by clicking here. The new design offers us a bit more flexibility in terms of displaying stories and is also geared to help promote our articles for people who find us by Google search. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new design.

Have a great weekend. And because most of our staff are in provinces where it’s a holiday on Monday,  we won’t be back in your Inbox until Tuesday.