City council has designated March 13 as Nothing Special Day following a presentation by the Commemorative and Awareness Days Fatigue Society (CADFS).
At its regular meeting February 21, Council heard from Nolan Skaple, CADFS president.
“Every month, every week, every day it seems we are commemorating something,” Skaple said. “This month is National Reading Month, Childhood Arthritis Month, Women’s History Month and Umbrella Month.
“This week is Brain Awareness Week, National Problem Gambling Week, National School Breakfast Week and Festival of Owls Week. At this very meeting, Council has declared this week Kin Week.
“Today is International Mother Language Day, tomorrow is World Thinking Day and March 1 is Pig Day. Pig Day! March 14 is Pi Day. That’s a day to celebrate a mathematical constant. It’s all very tiring.”
Skaple requested March 13 be set aside as a break from commemorative days.
Lukas Gruber, a psychology professor at the University of Saskatchewan said Commemorative Day Fatigue Syndrome (CDFS) is a growing concern.
“Well, it’s not actually in the DSM [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders], but I see lots of people, okay, one, who feels overwhelmed trying to keep up,” he said. “I try to tell him he doesn’t have to celebrate them all.”
Asked if the patient was Skaple, Gruber cited patient confidentiality.
Not all members of Council voted in favour of the motion. Coun. Ken Chyz said designating the day Nothing Special Day defeats the purpose.
“By proclaiming it, we are not reducing the number of commemorative days, we are actually creating another one,” he said.
Mayor Bob Maloney explained why Council went along.
“We couldn’t see any harm in doing it, and honestly, we just wanted to get out of there, the guy looked a little unstable,” Maloney said. “We declined to fly the Nothing Special Day flag, though.”
