National Siblings Day - When Is It?
We can bicker and fight with our siblings like we can with no other. This is because no one understand us like they do. It is the same reason we love our siblings and feel such a closeness with them. We already honor close family members with Mother's Day and Father's Day, but why do siblings get left out? The truth is that they don't. There is a National Siblings Day, it's just that not many of us are aware of it. This is partly because it is not always recognized on a governmental level, although this may be in the process of changing.
At oneHOWTO, we learn all about National Siblings Day. We find out the date of National Siblings Day in the USA and Canada, look at how this holiday is celebrated in other parts of the world and find out the best ways to celebrate National Siblings Day with those we love the most.
Contents
When is National Siblings Day?
If you want to celebrate National Siblings Day with your family, it would help to know when it happens. This annual holiday falls on 10th April every year in the USA and Canada. It is on this date you can make an extra-special effort to be kind to your siblings and remember the importance of family.
While National Siblings Day is on April 10th every year in North America, other parts of the world celebrate on different dates. In parts of Europe, it is celebrated on 31st May. There it is not known as National Siblings Day, but Brothers and Sisters Day. Some countries will also have their own dates which differ from those already mentioned. They include Siblings Day in Argentina which is celebrated earlier in the year on 4th March.
The term brother has its origin in the Latin word germanus which means ‘full brother’, but also means ‘true and genuine’. A sibling is someone who is not only related, but who can reveal the truth about ourselves and each other. It is one of the most important relationships of kinship and is defined by strong emotional connections.
It is this strength of kinship which led to National Siblings Day. Despite this fact, it is only recently the US and Canada have thought to introduce National Siblings Day with the Siblings Day Foundation only becoming incorporated in 1997. In Europe, it was not introduced until 2014, although there seems to be some momentum in making it more official.
Why is National Siblings Day celebrated?
The history of National Siblings Day in begins in the USA. It was inaugurated there in 1995 by a woman named Claudia Evart. Evart lost two siblings when they were both very young. Their names were Alan and Lisette and the National Siblings Day date was chosen to honor Lisette's own birthday. Evart describes wanting to celebrate the love and honor we experience with our own siblings, as well as promote a global community of human brothers and sisters who need to look our for each other.
To help make this celebration a reality, Evart set up the Siblings Foundation. This is nonprofit volunteer organization has to main aims. Firstly, they want to help National Siblings Day establish itself as an official National Day of Recognition. Secondly, they want to create a system of contacts worldwide which can help unite and reunite siblings who have been separated for whatever reason. This could be the dissolution of family, fighting, adoption or any number of circumstances.
As we have stated, although it began in North America, Siblings Day is now supported in various incarnations across the glove. This is part of the effort to help promote the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood which can be strained at times, but also have opportunities to be joined together again. The Siblings Foundation creates practical opportunities for this to happen in specific families.
The history of National Siblings Day continues. Increasingly, it is being celebrated in more extravagant ways. For example, in 2021, National Siblings Day was celebrated by NASA when they posted a photo comparison of Earth and Venus together, since Venus is considered Earth's ‘sister planet’.
How to celebrate National Siblings Day
To commemorate National Siblings Day, the most important aspect is to celebrate with those we consider family. For many of us, our siblings are no longer in our lives. Whether they are no longer alive or our bonds have been broken to the point we no longer have contact with them, National Siblings Day can still be celebrated with those we do have a close relationship to. For many of us, our friends are like brothers and sisters.
Whether you are celebrating with blood brothers or spiritual sisters, there are many things you can do to celebrate National Siblings Day. This can be as little as sending a message to let your sibling know you are thinking of them or as much as a large party to celebrate with various people we consider to be brothers and sisters.
We can also use National Siblings Day as a way to get back in touch with the brothers and sisters we no longer see as much. To do this, we can try to contact them through more traditional means. But we can also use modern technology and harness the power of social media to reconnect. Whether you want to look for someone or simply celebrate the siblings you do have, you can use the hashtag #NationalSiblingsDay to tag your posts.
If you want to find even more ways to help celebrate the people you love, learn more with our articles on when International Friendship Day is celebrated and what does the 4th of July signify?
If you want to read similar articles to National Siblings Day - When Is It?, we recommend you visit our Festivities & Celebrations category.
