The first Sunday after Labor Day is always Grandparent’s Day in the United States, which is Sunday, September 11th, 2022. While we’ve always seemed to have had a Mother’s Day and a Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day has only been observed in the US since 1978, despite it being celebrated in various other countries around the world for many years prior. The holiday’s founder was a West Virginia grandmother named Marian McQuade. Her goal was to educate America’s youth about the contributions seniors have made throughout the country’s history. She started locally in her home state in 1970, and by 1978, President Jimmy Carter made it official across the land.
A little-known fact about Grandparent’s Day: Unlike Mother’s and Father’s Day, on Grandparent’s Day it is appropriate for grandchildren to give their grandparents gifts, and vice versa! As if grandparents need an excuse to continue to spoil their grandkids…
The official flower for Grandparent’s Day is the forget-me-not. These pretty, tiny blue flowers have been used as a symbol of remembrance for hundreds of years, including 15th century Germany, where the flower was worn by ladies as a sign of enduring love.
Some Fun Grandparental Facts:
- A man in Pennsylvania holds the record for having the most living descendants. Upon Samuel Masts’ death 30 years ago, he had fathered 11 children, resulting in 97 grandchildren, 634 great-grandchildren and 82 great-great grandchildren. Imagine trying to remember those 813 names and faces!
- The First Lady of Country Music, Miss Loretta Lynn, a.k.a. ‘The Coalminer’s Daughter’, became a grandmother at the age of ripe old age of 29.
- More than half of grandparents have social media accounts and share photos online.
- More than half of grandparents play video games with their grandchildren.
- There are over 70,000,000 grandparents in the United States today, and about 2,700,000 of them are the main caregivers for grandchildren, and over 7,000,000 live in the same household.
The official statue says the purpose of Grandparent’s Day is: “To honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children, and to help children become aware of strength, information and guidance older people can offer.” To all the grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents who are trusted in our care amongst our Trousdale Living Communities, we want to wish you all a Happy Grandparent’s Day!