What comes to mind when you think of your grandparents? To many, they are likely a symbol of strength, having powered through hardships over the decades to ensure the family can thrive. Some might view them as ancient relics from a time long gone, spewing out narratives and ideologies best left in those years. For others, they are perhaps a mystery only known through photographs and stories of family members who personally knew them. Whatever the case may be, there’s no denying that without our grandparents, we wouldn’t be where we are today. 

To celebrate this bond between grandparents and grandchildren, Grandparents’ Day was formed. While the celebration doesn’t appear to have the same buzz as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, it’s still a momentous occasion to relish such familial bonds. 

In the US, the idea of celebrating Grandparents’ Day began after a nine-year-old boy Russell Capper wrote to then-US President Richard Nixon in 1969 suggesting that a special day be set aside to celebrate grandparents. Nixon’s personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, wrote back to him stating such a holiday could only be declared if a resolution was sent in by Congress. A year later, Marian McQuade started a statewide campaign in West Virginia to establish a special day in recognition of grandparents. By 1973, West Virginia Governor Arch Moore proclaimed the first-ever Grandparents’ Day celebration. Years later in 1978, the US Congress signed legislation marking the celebration of Grandparents’ Day to land every first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents’ Day. US President Jimmy Carter would be the one to make it official through a presidential proclamation. McQuade was cited as the founder of the holiday, fitting as she went on to serve as grandmother to a whopping 43 grandchildren. 

In the Philippines, not much information is available about the origin of celebrating Grandparents’ Day other than the first official celebration taking place in 1987. Some records, however, also suggest that former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. had started the holiday as early as 1972, through Proclamation No. 994, designating the fourth Sunday of June every year as Grandparents’ Day. As executive secretary Alejandro Melchor wrote in the proclamation, “it behooves us to set aside one day of the year at least to honor our parents and grandparents whose places in society we will someday take.” These days, Grandparents’ Day is celebrated every second Sunday of September. 

As we celebrate Grandparents’ Day this year, it’s important to remember the special relationship grandparents have with their apos (grandchildren). For those of us fortunate to still have our lolos and lolas around, don’t forget to tell them how much you love them. To those who no longer have them around, try to visit their final resting place and look back on all the precious memories you shared together. May we all have a joyous Grandparents’ Day as we celebrate the connection we have with our second parents.