Grandparents.  Where would we be without them?

Traditionally observed on the first Sunday after Labor Day, National Grandparents Day is celebrated this year in the U.S. and Canada on Sunday, September 12, 2021.

In the US, Grandparents Day may be observed with happy family get-togethers, travel excursions that include Grandma and Grandpa, and even civic events that celebrate grandparents throughout an entire community.

All about Grandparents Day
Celebrating grandparents was a fairly new idea when West Virginian native, Marian McQuade, pressed the U.S. Senate to proclaim a special day for grandparents in 1978.

That same year, President Jimmy Carter signed the bill into law proclaiming special recognition for grandparents throughout the land.

As the popularity of Grandparents Day caught on, forget-me-nots were designated as the official flower of Grandparents Day.

Today, Grandparents Day remains a great opportunity for family get-togethers — marked with greeting cards, flower bouquets, special Grandparents Day gifts, or for treating grandparents to a dinner out or homemade feast in their honor.

Grandparents Day fun facts

• In the U.S. and Canada, Grandparents Day is celebrated in September on the first Sunday after Labor Day.  Meanwhile, in the UK, it’s the first Sunday in October.  In Germany, Grandmothers Day is observed on the second Sunday in October. Dia del Abuelo, or Grandparents Day, is celebrated in Mexico every year on August 28.
• In the U.S., it’s grandma and grandpa.  In Latin America and Spain it’s abuela and abuelo.  In Italy, it’s nonna and nonno, and in Germany oma and opa are the traditional names for a grandmother and grandfather.
• Famous people who have been raised by their grandparents include Oprah Winfrey, Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, actor Jack Nicholson, singer Willie Nelson, funny lady Carol Burnett, and poet Maya Angelou.
• Grandparents are younger than ever today with a median age of 48. More than half the grandparents in the United States are baby boomers and about 10% have tattoos!
• Grandparents are wonderful caregivers (think about all the experience they have!) with more than two million grandparents in the U.S. acting as the head of household.