Dear Moka Joshi Students and Teachers,

Today is the first day of February, and oh how the time flies. This winter has been quite cold, eh? Hopefully we can all be graced with the beautiful pale-pink blooms of the Sakura sooner rather than later. But for now, it is still winter but even in the dead of winter we have many things to look forward to, especially in Canada.

February has one public holiday in Ontario. Not all of Canada celebrates it, only five out of 10 provinces and 3 territories do. It is on the third Monday of the month and is called Family Day 家族の日. On this day, people do not have to go to work or school. It was created recently by the Ontario government because the whole month of February did not have even one public holiday for us to enjoy. On this day, we are to spend time with our family and relax since February is usually the coldest month of the year, just like in Japan. Apart from this holiday, there are two special holidays Canadians celebrate even though we do not get the day off!

Everyone must still go to work or school for both of these holidays, but we still celebrate them. Also, both these holidays are quite quirky. One is called Groundhog Day and the other is Valentine’s Day.

Groundhog Day (グラウンドホッグの日) is celebrated on February 2^nd each year in both Canada and the United States. On this day, people gather around a groundhog’s burrow and wait for him to wake up and come out. A groundhog is a small furry animal that looks like a really big squirrel or tanuki. If he comes out and it is cloudy, he will not see his shadow, so he will come out of his hole. This means that Spring is coming soon. If however, it is sunny the groundhog will see his shadow and go back into his burrow. This means that there will be six more weeks of Winter. Of course, none of this is really true because the groundhog cannot predict the weather. But, this silly little holiday is a tradition of Winter in Canada and parts of America and usually involves a festival as well where there are parades, people eating, singing, dancing, and enjoying the winter weather. The most famous groundhog in Canada is called Wiarton Willie, in the town of Wiarton, Ontario.

The second holiday is of course Valentine’s Day, celebrated in Canada and in Japan but in very different ways. In Japan Valentine’s Day is where girls give boys that they like chocolates, and maybe even confess their love for them. Also, girls give men in their lives who they respect chocolates. Girls do not receive chocolates on Valentine’s Day in Japan. However, in Canada and most of the Western World, Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers to celebrate each other equally. Of course, on Valentine’s Day you can confess to your crush or your secret admirer can confess to you but overall Valentine’s Day is about celebrating love. If you are in a relationship, you will give your boyfriend or girlfriend something and he or she will also gives something back to you. Chocolates, cards, red roses, and candy are all gifts that we can give our lovers, but… it is not really about the gifts but rather appreciating each other and celebrating your love for one another.

However, on Valentine’s Day many people become depressed or do not like to celebrate because they might not be in love. But Moka Joshi students and staff, please do not be depressed if you’re not in love or in a relationship! Celebrate with the rest of us, many people give gifts to their friends that they love or their family members. For example, some of my friends who are not in relationships get together on Valentine’s Day and cook romantic food together and watch romantic movies. For me, every year I will give my Mother either flowers, chocolates or some other kind of gift because my Father passed away very young. I choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day in my own way, by thanking my Mother for her love. In my opinion, there is no wrong way to celebrate Valentine’s Day or any other holiday… you can choose if you want to celebrate and how you want to celebrate. This year, I do not know how I will celebrate Valentine’s Day since this is my first Valentine’s Day alone! Please help me Moka Joshi students and staff, how do you think I should celebrate Valentine’s Day this year? J

Love,

Matthew