Observed annually on the fourth Monday in September, National Family Day is a holiday that reminds us that there’s nothing more important than family. It’s the single most important thing in our lives, regardless of whether it’s our biological family, our adopted family, or the “found family” that we create throughout our lives.

In other words, it’s a day for people to celebrate those in their lives and show them that they’re important. Even though this holiday has only been around for a few decades, it has managed to encourage people all over the U.S., and perhaps even the world, to spend time with their family, which is positive and should be strived for.

The History of National Family Day

In 2001, this holiday was created by The National Center on Addiction. They saw this holiday as a way to combat the substance abuse problem gripping the United States. How was a holiday centered around the family supposed to help with this issue?

It was all due to the research that had been done the previous year, which showed that teens who ate meals with their families were less likely to fall into a pattern of substance abuse than those who didn’t.

This research also showed that teenagers who shared meals with their families were more likely to eat healthier and perform better in school. This holiday was an almost immediate success and has been observed ever since.

Some Plain Facts About Family

Let’s take a look at the following facts about family that we think are apropos of the holiday we’re discussing. With that being said, let’s not waste any more time. Let’s just jump right into them.

• Approximately a third of family households are single parents with a child under 18.
• In 2005, an estimated 800,000 children were in foster care, with another 115,000 waiting to enter the system.
• More than 100,000 children are adopted each year.

Observing National Family Day

This holiday can be observed in a number of different ways. People can take the time to spend the day with their families, or if that isn’t possible, then at least share a meal with them. Even spending a little bit of time talking to their family can really help center a person, so if a person’s schedule is too tight, they can at least do that much.

The whole point of this day is to reconnect with family, and that can be done in any number of ways. And while people are reconnecting, they can spread the word about this holiday to encourage others to do the same using the hashtag #NationalFamilyDay on social media.