The International Day of Families on May 15 celebrates and appreciates the families — the foundation of the society.
In 1994, the day was established by the United Nations for realising the importance of families in our lives.
Joint family or nuclear family, traditional family or non-traditional family, Their presence works like a pillar in our lives.
Need not to say that our beloved family members are our strength and very dear to us. We spend most of our time with them, and we want to spend much more with them because we are glued to them with love, emotions, and feelings.
Let’s celebrate the International Day of Families by spending time at home and having the pleasure of our bonds and relationships With the one who makes a family — our family members.
Quote: "Family is not our want, it’s our need."
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Date of International Day of Families Observance
15th of May.
History of International Day of Families
The Family Tree of Confucius
In 551 BC, a Chinese philosopher named Confucius in Lu, Eastern China’s regional state.
The Confucius family tree has been kept for about 2500 years.
The Guinness book of world Records recognised the Confucius genealogy for presenting the longest family tree so far in history with more than 2 million names of the descendants. Published in 2009, the Confucius genealogy book all the records of the history.
Information Burnt
In 1921, the fire consumed the US Census data of 1890. It destroyed all the documents along with the information held in them.
Care for the Family Introduced
In 1988, Rob Parsons laid the foundation of a non-profit organisation in the UK.
It aimed at strengthening the family through providing support.
It focused on positive parenting courses, bereavement support, and marriage counselling related aspects.
Digital Genealogy Company
In 1996, ancestry.com came into the light. It emerged as the largest for-profit company that got fame for serving over 14 million subscribers.
It allows one to assess the history of their families by going through the documents.
Tribute to Family Traditions
It’s not just the bond or the relations that we share with the family. We also share many eccentric traditions with our family members.
Can you relate with the:
- The time that you spent with your family members on a dining table
- Moments when a get-together took place without any reason
- Senseless yet satiating chatters
- Incidences when one stood behind the other, giving strength in the adverse circumstances.
We all can connect to the above aspects that make our bonds stronger and unbreakable within the family.
Other than the common aspects as above, the International Day of Families also makes us celebrate the:
- The uniqueness of our family
- Stories around our family members
- Journeys and adventures that we have shared along so far.
Most of the time we stand shoulder to shoulder, holding hands tightly no matter what. But there also come some moments when we take our family for granted.
The International Day for Families gives us a chance to close the gaps and be united again.
It encourages us to be grateful towards our relations with the parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and all those who belong to our immediate or extended family.
It’s the day when we can recreate and relive the beautiful moments that revolve around our most beloved family members.
International Day of Families Celebration Ideas
Prepare Your Family Tree
If not for documentation purposes, you can build it for fun as well.
It is an activity where all your family members can participate. Such a collective involvement is going to make a beautiful memory for the future.
On top of it all, you can keep it for generations, making it a tradition of your family.
You can also use the phone calls to your extended family members for knowing the names of your ancestors.
Inviting and welcoming your grandparents can also help you in accomplishing this task.
Don’t forget to know a specific unique story of the families you call in. It will keep you involved and engrossed in your task, making it a fun activity.
You can also register your family at an online platform such as ancestry.com and discover long lost relatives.
Consider Your Community As Family
Take any key role or responsibility and be a part of the project that serves a community.
Your support can be in any form — monetary and non-monetary.
If you think that your efforts are not Going to be much fruitful, you can also join any organisation that is already working for it. Maybe as an individual, we cannot make a difference, but by joining hands with an organisation, we can help people a greater extent.
Such organisations not only covers the aspects such as starvation and poverty but also focus on habitation and development.
Organise a Get-together
This time, not only for your immediate family members but also for the extended ones.
Many of our family members, cousins, and relatives living at distance wish to know the other family members but do not find an opportunity to do so.
The International Day of Families is a great opportunity to bring them all together by arranging a picnic or visit.
Don’t forget to bring in a delicious meal and desserts to add sweetness to your bonds and relations.
Why is International Day of Families Celebrated?
It Makes Us Stick to the Roots
Since humanity was planted on this planet, the system of a family also existed around us.
The family is the strength behind any humans success and development. When a family strengthens, society also gets stronger. It makes our human community powerful.
Our immediate family teaches us the concept and core of the system of a family.
When we try to stand globally against any calls, issues, or calamities, we raise our contribution and support believing that the entire earth is our family.
We become able to extend our helping hand, realising the value of family Because we have tasted its importance to our own personal example.
It Introduces the Wider You
Many a time when the term ‘family’ is concerned, we think of those people with whom we share our DNA.
However, the meaning of family touches much bigger aspects.
The definition of a family might be what’s your ever,
The word ‘family’ can’t be defined in one line as it is not just a system in which all the family members are bonded together; it’s a concept.
It can be understood by brainstorming on the different types of families.
- Some families have parents and children but not the grandparents with them.
- Some families have a married couple, but not any kids.
- Some kids live in a family as a single child, some get their siblings as well to live and play along.
- Some people see their servants also as family members.
- Many adopt a pet as a child and consider it as an important one of the family.
- Those children who are brought up in an orphanage, they consider all the children of that orphanage as their siblings. To them, they all are their family.
Not only the type of the family members but the systems and traditions of a family also make the one different and the others.
While thinking about them all and talking about the similarities and differences, we get a wider perspective and perception about the word ‘family’.
It Celebrates Both — Differences and Similarities
When it comes to a family, the International Day of Families makes us understand how we are unique and different yet similar and beautiful.
It’s An Opportunity to Fix and Resolve
Which family does not face any issue, situations, or circumstances that go against peace and happiness?!
This day comes as a chance to sit together, talk, and distance all the distances. If there is an issue to fix, if there is a problem to resolve in between, it’s one of the best opportunities that a person can make the most of.
It Gives Space to the Critical and Vital Aspects
This is a day when you can initiate the long-pending conversations that were critical yet not addressed.
Such communication can cover not only your real family issues but also the problems that our global family is facing.
It is the perfect day to talk about how we can make a difference to our global community by raising help regarding the issues such as lack of healthcare, child-rearing, poverty, and lack of employment.
Significance of International Day of Families
Where there are many utensils kept together, they do make noise. Many a time the stability of a family is compromised which not only impacts the very family but also the society.
In the 1980s, the UN realised this issue and the secretary-general took the initiative to aware people and decision-makers go back to the roots.
The International Families got established and we started to observe it with different teams focusing on the different family issues and worldwide challenges. It includes various aspects such as health, the balance between work and family, poverty, Education, and many more.
Observing the day with such a theme strengthens the concept and sustainability of the family.
Interesting Facts and Figures about Families
System of Traditional Families Fading
The system in which a child gets the love and togetherness of both of the parents — mother and father — is fading day by day.
The traditional family systems are badly harmed by multiple marriages and divorces.
The percentage of the children who get their married parents living with them has declined to a great number. Where it was 73% in 1960, today we have it just 46%.
Single Parents Are Trending
Forget about the preference, people not used to even think about it earlier.
The concept of single parents has risen to such an extent that the percentage of single-parent households has mounted from 9% to 26%.
Together But Not Married
The percentage of cohabiting parents has also increased to 7%.
It’s no more a surprise that this number of couples are parenting their children without marrying each other.
The Number of Adoptions
American families have been adopting about 135,000 children every year.
Joint Family Coming into Trends
The households with more than three generations are in trend these days. Such a number of households have increased to 28.4%.
Research and Study Facts
Number of Children
On average, an American woman has 1.9 children.
Parenting by Fathers
One among five fathers is the prime caregiver to their children who are just in preschool age.
The Behaviour of Younger Children
About 390 families suggest that the younger child of the family is usually more aggressive end rebellious.
Parents Are Trusted More
82% of children claimed that when it comes to serious issues and decision-making moments, they believe in their parents’ opinions and suggestions over their friends’.
Father’s Favourite
70% of fathers confessed that they have got a favourite one among all the children
Happy Family
66% of 12 to 17 years old adolescents reside with both parents.
Mothers Favourite
65% of mothers confessed that the oldest child of the family is their favourite.
The Bond of Siblings
33% of siblings spent their leisure hours together by the age of 11.
Single Fathers
7% of families have children with a single father.
Children with Grandparents
7% of children who have not crossed the age of 18 lived with their grandparents in 2017.
