National Brothers And Sisters Day

National Brothers and Sisters Day is a holiday that’s observed annually in the United States on May 2nd. It’s a day that celebrates the special bond that exists between siblings and it gives brothers and sisters an opportunity to celebrate their relationship. It’s a holiday that shouldn’t be confused with other holidays that also celebrate siblings, however.

Sibling Day falls on April 10th every year, and Brothers and Sisters Day is celebrated in France, Portugal, and Spain on May 31st. As can be clearly seen, this has caused quite a bit of confusion with many online calendars and with people attempting to observe these holidays.

The History Of National Brothers And Sisters Day

This holiday, like all the sibling-based holidays, can be traced back to the 1990s. This is when Claudia Evart was looking for a way to honor the memory of her brother and sister, both of whom had died at early ages. She established the Siblings Day Foundation in 1997 and achieved non-profit status for the organization two years later.

This organization was then used to lobby for the introduction of an official holiday that celebrated brothers and sisters, and the special bond they enjoy. The first time that Siblings Day was introduced into the public record was on April 10th, 1997 by U.S.

Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, Carolyn Maloney. It would also be introduced in 2001, 2005, and then eventually in 2008. In 2014, Siblings Day was launched in Europe by the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC) to celebrate sibling bonds. This holiday would be placed on May 31st.

Eventually, someone inspired by this holiday would create National Brothers and Sisters Day and place it on May 2nd. Unfortunately, at this time, we’re unsure of who that person was, why they placed it on this date, or when they invented the holiday. All that we know is that it was created sometime after 2011, but that’s all we know about it right now.

Some Quick Facts About Siblings

We wanted to cover some basic facts about siblings that we think everyone could appreciate, so we did some preliminary research and came up with a few facts. Let’s take a look at these facts below.

  • By the time kids are 11 years old, they’ve spent roughly a third of their time with siblings, on average.
  • Studies show that siblings have a profound effect on each other’s personalities growing up.
  • Younger siblings tend to be less risk-averse and extroverted than older siblings.
  • Younger siblings tend to have fewer allergies.
  • According to a recent study, siblings who grow up together tend to have a lower risk of obesity.
  • For every sibling growing up together, the risk of obesity drops by about 14%.
  • Some studies say that older siblings are more intelligent, but only by a small amount.

Observing National Brothers And Sisters Day

Everyone is encouraged to reach out to their siblings on this holiday. This can be done through a call, a letter, or through an in-person visit. Even if siblings haven’t reached out to one another in a really long time, they should still take the opportunity to reach out.

It can even be done through social media (if the sibling is on social media) by using the hashtag #BrothersAndSistersDay. Of course, not everyone has siblings and we don’t feel that these individuals should be left out of all of the fun, so we suggest that they reach out to a close friend. Someone who they’re as close with as if they were a sibling. They can take their friend out to dinner or buy him/her drinks.

When is it?
This year (2023)
May 2 Tuesday
Next year (2024)
May 2 Thursday
Last year (2022)
May 2 Monday
Topic
Relationships & Family