Everyday is family day.

In 2007 the Ontario government introduced a provincial holiday called Family Day. The holiday is marketed as a day to celebrate the importance of family; it also raises the number of public holidays in Ontario to nine.

Family is a complicated word to define. For some it simply means relatives, the people you love not necessarily because you have to but because they’ve been a part of your life for so long that you don’t know what you’d do without them. For others family is something they’ve built, it’s a mosaic of people from every stage of their lives who have carved a place in their heart.

For Christy Friesen the holiday is a bit of a farce. “It’s nice to have a paid day off in February when you need it but as a holiday it’s not a huge thing,” she says. “You should always spend time with your family; you shouldn’t need a specific day for it.”

Christy Friesen, 28, holds a photo of her brother. Friesen feels that we shouldn't need a day specifically dedicated to appreciating family as it's something we should do on a daily basis

Regardless of her feelings   towards the day, Friesen, who hails from Simcoe, Ont., was unable to be with her biological family and instead spent the day with her boyfriend, his mother, grandmother and brother. They had originally planned to have an “Ultimate Ottawa Family Day”, which included beavertails and skating on the canal. Unfortunately the canal was closed and they were forced to change their plans. Instead they stayed home, had a big dinner and spent time together. “It was really nice,” Friesen said.

Had she been home, Friesen says she and her family would have played hockey on the pond in their back yard.