Take a break and learn some history
I love that we now have a holiday in February, a time of year when you’re dealing with the doldrums of winter and longing for the warmth of springtime. Not only is it a day of rest and relaxation, but it’s also a day that also gives Nova Scotians the opportunity to learn a little about their province’s rich, storied history.
What a great idea and since 2015, Nova Scotians have been celebrating Nova Scotia Heritage Day on the third Monday in February.
Following the introduction of Nova Scotia Heritage Day as the province’s newest holiday seven years ago, Primary to Grade 12 classes were invited to submit their suggestions for significant cultural and historical contributions that should be honoured during future Heritage Day celebrations.
According to the provincial website, more than 75 submissions were received and reviewed by a three-member panel. From those submissions, a list of Heritage Day honourees was created. Viola Desmond was chosen as the holiday’s first honouree, while Joseph Howe was the honoured Nova Scotian in 2016.
In 2017, Nova Scotians celebrated Mi’kmaq heritage as part of the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday. In 2018, we celebrated the legacy of Mona Louise Parsons. As 2018 was the centenary for Enfranchisement of Women in
Nova Scotia, we remembered the Middleton native who was decorated for her acts of heroism during the Second World War.
On Feb. 18, 2019, Nova Scotians remembered and honoured another Nova Scotian woman, Maud Lewis.
The world famous folk artist painted scenes that evoke feelings of innocence and child-like exuberance that is as enduring as the spring times she loved to paint.
On Feb. 17, 2020, we remembered Africville to mark the 10th anniversary of the Africville apology. On that day, Nova Scotians honoured this National Historic Site, which holds great significance to the African Nova Scotian community.
On Feb. 15, 2021, Nova Scotians honoured Edward Francis Arab. Born in Halifax in 1915, Arab was the grandson of the first Lebanese settlers in Halifax. He graduated from Dalhousie University law school and practiced until he enlisted in the army at the outbreak of the Second World War and was killed in the 1944 Battle of the Scheldt Estuary in Holland. He is a true Nova Scotian hero — someone we should all pause to remember on this important day.
This coming Monday on
Feb. 21, 2022, Nova Scotia Heritage Day 2022, Nova Scotians will honour the Grand Pré National Historic site, and as we said, not only is this a good day for a mid-winter respite, but it’s also a day to learn some Nova Scotia history so let us do just that.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Landscape of Grand-pré becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site, Nova Scotians will celebrate this National Historic Site of Canada, which commemorates the Acadians of Minas Basin and the event that took them from their homes, the Deportation.
The provincial website explains the Landscape of Grandpré is located in the southern Minas Basin of Nova Scotia. The Grand-pré marshland and archaeological sites constitute a cultural landscape bearing testimony to the development of agricultural farmland using dykes and the aboiteau wooden sluice system, started by the Acadians in the 17th century and further developed and maintained by the Planters and present-day inhabitants.
Over 1,300 hectares, the cultural landscape encompasses a large expanse of polder farmland and archaeological elements of the towns of Grand-pré and Hortonville, which were built by the Acadians and their successors.
The landscape is an exceptional example of the adaptation of the first European settlers to the conditions of the North American Atlantic coast, which was made possible with the help and vital support of the Mi’kmaw people. The site is also inscribed as a major place of memory to Acadians.
On June 30, 2012, the Landscape of Grand-pré became Canada’s 16th World Heritage Site, listed by UNESCO and 2022 will mark its 10th year anniversary.
Five other honourees were selected as part of the submission process and they will be celebrated from 2023 to 2027. These honourees, in no particular order, are Nora Bernard, Carrie Best, J. William Comeau, William Hall and Rita Joe. Heritage Day replaces the Family Day Holiday observed on the third Monday of February in other areas of Canada.
According to the provincial website, as the holiday is a provincial holiday, federal employees may not have the day off. Canada Post will be in operation and banks and restaurants are allowed to open. Supermarkets, malls and banks will be closed, along with schools and public libraries. Public transport will operate on a different schedule to a normal Monday.
Some businesses may stay closed as opening on a holiday means they have to pay employees extra to work on a holiday, as according to the Nova Scotia Labour Standards Code, any employee who works on the holiday will get holiday pay plus extra pay for the time they actually worked on the holiday; alternatively, they will get their regular pay for the day plus another paid day off.
Note that the holiday pay provisions do not apply to unionized employees who work under collective agreements, but many unionized employees will still get Heritage Day as a holiday, as statutory holidays often form part of collective agreements.
There was some resistance years ago when the idea of a February holiday was first floated, but everyone needs a break, especially in winter, and what better to do that than by celebrating our province’s heritage. This special day gives us an opportunity to learn about these extraordinary people, history and culture. You can’t get much better than that, or least that’s the view from here.