National Visit Your Relatives Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on the 18th of May and encourages everyone to go out there and drop by their relative’s homes. Since May isn’t a month with any major holidays in it, many people have probably not been to a relative’s home in a while, and this day is the perfect day to rectify that problem.

This is a day that should serve as a reminder that life is short and that we sometimes need to reconnect with the people we love. We know life is busy, but sometimes you have to take time out to hang with family.

Amazing Facts About Families

We thought that we’d take a few moments and talk about the heart of this holiday: the family. Because all of us come from families we feel that we know everything there is to know about them, but we have to disagree. Below are some points about families that we think most people aren’t aware of.

• Until the 17th century, family not only included relatives but also the servants of a household.
• As of 2020, an American woman will have approximately 1.9 children over the course of their life.
• In 1960, the average American woman would have approximately 3.7 children over the course of her life.
• In 1980, just 7% of U.S marriages were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity.
• In 2010, 15% of U.S marriages were between spouses of a different race or ethnicity.

Observing National Visit Your Relatives Day

The only way to observe this holiday is to spend some time with your relatives. It can be with relatives you haven’t seen in a while or with relatives you see on a regular basis—it’s up to you. It’s also a good day to give a shout-out to relatives who live across the country or across the world. This can be easily done using the hashtag #VisitYourRelativesDay.