History of Grandparents Day
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Grandparents Day is a national holiday, celebrated each year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. The holiday is reconginzed on Sept 12 every year. It is a day for celebrating and connecting the older generation with the younger generation. Grandparents Day was founded by Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade.
There are three purposes for National Grandparents Day:
• To honor grandparents.
• To give grandparents a chance to show love to their family and their children’s kids(AKA the grandkids)
• To teach kids that their grandparents have alot to offer when it comes to advice or guidance .
According to National Today’s website article, “In 1969, nine-year-old Russell Capper sent President Nixon a letter suggesting that a day should be set aside in order to celebrate grandparents.
On June 12, 1969, he received a letter back from Rose Mary Woods — Personal Secretary to the President — reading, “Dear Russell, Thank you for your letter to President Nixon. Your suggestion regarding a Grandparent’s Day is appreciated, but the President ordinarily issues proclamations designating periods for special observance only when a Congressional resolution authorizes him to do so. With best wishes, Sincerely, Rose Mary Woods Personal Secretary to the President.”
The website states that Marian McQuade was recognized nationally by the U.S. Senate and by President Jimmy Carter as the founder of National Grandparents Day.
In 1977, Senator Randolph, proposed an agreement to the senate requesting the president to issue annually a proclamation designating the first Sunday of September after Labor Day of each year as ‘National Grandparents’ Day.’
The website mentions that on August 3, 1978, Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation, and the day was finally celebrated the following year.
Here is another interesting fact about Grandparents Day: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day have apostrophes, while, officially, Grandparents Day does not. The website said, “Mrs. McQuade did not envision the holiday as ‘belonging’ to grandparents. Instead, she saw it as a day of celebration involving the whole family, a day to connect the generations. It’s just as much a day to honor grandparents as it is a day for grandparents themselves to confirm their loving legacy to the generations that follow them.
Many families celebrate Grandparents Day by coming together as a family. Alot of families will get together with their elders and visit . They will eat and have a nice meal or maybe play some board games, cards or go outside for a stroll. If a person can not visit in person, grandparents and grandchildren can have virtual visits through technology apps such as Zoom or Facetime through their phone. Mostly just visiting with a grandparent will make them happy.
