Grandparents Day

We're not sure where this metal art was on street exhibit, but, grandkids certainly looked smaller by comparison. These photos came in celebration of  National Grandparents Day, which was marked earlier this month.

Since we had forgotten the date, I decided to learn more about this largely U.S. celebration. However, Grandparents Day is recognized in other countries on various days of the year, either as one holiday or sometimes as a separate Grandmother's and/or Grandfather's Day.

National Grandparents Day (NGD) has several origins in the U.S. and most often is attributed to the efforts of Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade of West Virginia. Throughout the 1970s, she worked to educate people about the contributions of seniors and urged people to adopt a grandparent, not only for a day or for gift-giving, but for a lifetime of experience. As a child, McQuade had visited her grandmother's 130-acre WV farm and recalled how she  would walk to visit elderly in the area after a day's work. NGD was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 and it was first observed on Sunday, Sept 9, 1979, the first Sunday in Sept after Labor Day.

What's a holiday without a flower or even a song — NGD has both.

The official National Grandparents Day flower is oddly the “forget-me-not” flower which blooms not in late summer, but in the spring. There's also an official song: A Song for Grandma and Grandpa by Johnny Prill, also a grandparent. Prill volunteered at a nursing home where his grandmother resided. (Yes, there's an official website where you can hear it performed, but I've mercifully left out that link. If you go there, you will thank me for this omission.)

Just so you, and we, will know — in 2015, Grandparents Day  will be celebrated on Sunday, Sept 13. The date changes yearly as it is tied to Labor Day, but it's never earlier than Sept 7 or later than Sept 13.