I thought I would ask you a question. Did you know American Family Day falls on the first Sunday in August, which is on Saturday August 4th this year. American Family Day is a time for, you guessed it, to spend time with your family.
More specifically, American Family Day celebrates the bonds that laid the foundation for our lives, be it blood or otherwise. Unlike other holidays, however, American Family Day discourages gift-giving, unless your present is the gift of time. The makers of American Family Day intended for American Family Day to be all about the relationships built in a family, and cherishing them in person.
Historically, many cultures have been patriarchal. While this practice continued in Roman times, women were given slightly more freedom than before, although they were still not free to manage their own affairs.
By the time we reached the Middle Ages, two distinct family patterns began to emerge in Europe. In the Southern and Eastern parts of Europe, marriage between an older male and a younger female was common. Both would typically live with their parents for a long time, and their combined household would contain several generations of people.
In Northwestern Europe, couples were usually of the same age and would wait until their early 20s to marry. Then these couples would then set up their independent household as a precursor to the nuclear family.
The Industrial Revolution brought about a change in family units, although some historians believe that this change had already begun before this period. The previous joint- or extended family broke up because people, mainly the unmarried youth, left their homes to work at industrial facilities.
The male-female dynamic in the home also changed. Equality between the sexes gained more ground, and gender roles began to blur. The concept of the family today is both a physical and a mental structure and consists of familial and emotional bonds.
American Family Day has its beginnings in a one-year proclamation, which was signed by then- Governor of Arizona Raúl Héctor Castro. This proclamation declared August 7th as American Family Day. Many sources credit Arizona resident John Makkai as the force behind this legislation, although not much more is known about how this happened.
The year after the proclamation, the new Governor Bruce Babbitt signed American Family Day into law as an official Arizona holiday. This makes American Family Day the 14th State-recognized holiday in Arizona. Burgeoning interest spread American Family Day to North Carolina, then Georgia, and, now, all of America celebrates American Family Day each year.
How To Celebrate American Family Day
- You don’t need a special day (or reason) to celebrate the bonds of family, but American Family Day makes them all the more special. Gather those who are family not only in blood but in spirit, too, and spend some quality time with them. Go on a little picnic, take a walk in the park, or plan a family vacation.
- Learning is always rewarding, and there is nothing better than doing this activity with the ones you love. Take an art class with siblings, understand the ins and outs of gardening with your parents, and learn a new recipe with your kids. Gain some knowledge together.
- Everyone’s family has special stories and tales, secret family recipes, and even a funny secret or two. Your children and their children would love to know where they came from and the people who shaped their values and traditions. Learn how your family came to be, record relationships for a family tree, and include lots of photographs.
Fun Facts About Animal Families
- Female African Elephants and their Calves stay together their whole lives and look after each other’s babies. That is true love.
- Orangutan moms, of all the other mammals except us, share the most loving relationship with their babies. Orangutans are each other’s closest companions for the first eight years of the baby’s life.
- Many Penguins stay loyal to each other during mating season and even for most of their lives. Both parents share responsibility for raising their chick.
- Many primates including Marmosets, Tamarins, Pygmy Loris regularly give birth to twin babies.
- Dolphins is regularly in the news for helping their own species and humans. A BBC story showed five Dolphins creating a raft with their bodies to hold an injured dolphin above water. I wish I could have seen that. How about you?
Why People Love American Family Day
- In this fast-paced world, we appreciate a reminder to connect with the ones we love most. This connection forms the foundation for all our relationships. Our youngest members grow in love, our oldest thrive in this attention, and we realize our self-worth.
- Not only is the concept of ‘family’ important to society as a whole, but it also shaped each one of us into the person we are today. Each experience and memory with family is special and nurtures us well into adulthood.
- We are all tied by invisible and often unbreakable strings. The traditions and values of family remind us that we are all part of a bigger whole. American Family Day is a wonderful reminder that we each have a special place in our family
To continue the celebration of #AmericanFamilyDay you should also check out August 3 National Watermelon Day #NationalWatermelonDay – Branding Beyond Blogging We all know #Watermelon makes any celebration more fun and Watermelon and families go hand in hand. Don’t they?
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
