ObservanceSunday, September 12, 2027
National Grandparents Day
- Date
- Recurs
- The date changes each year. This page always shows the next one.
- Category
- Kids & Family
National Grandparents Day falls on the first Sunday in September after Labor Day, which makes it one of the few American observances whose date is set by statute rather than by custom. It exists because of a decade-long campaign by Marian McQuade, a West Virginia woman with 15 children and 43 grandchildren who thought the country's oldest generation was being left alone. The usual version of the story credits a single 1978 signature; the paper trail is two steps, a year apart.
History
Marian McQuade began working on behalf of older West Virginians in 1956, when she helped organize an event honoring the state's octogenarians. She launched the specific campaign for a day honoring grandparents in 1970, and West Virginia became the first state to recognize one in 1973. She then petitioned the rest of the nation's governors and Congress.
President Jimmy Carter signed Proclamation 4580 on August 3, 1978. It is worth reading closely, because it did less than it is usually said to have done: it designated one date, "Sunday, September 10, 1978," and cited no statute at all. Carter's stated reason was that "the elders of each family have the responsibility for setting the moral tone for the family and for passing on the traditional values of our nation to their children and grandchildren."
The standing observance came the following year. House Joint Resolution 244 — Public Law 96-62, approved September 6, 1979 — authorized and requested the President to issue the proclamation annually, and fixed the moving date it still uses. The provision is now codified at 36 U.S.C. section 125. McQuade died in Oak Hill, West Virginia, in 2008, at 91.
Timeline
- 1956 — McQuade helps organize an event honoring West Virginia's octogenarians, her first work on behalf of older people.
- 1970 — She launches her campaign for a national day honoring grandparents.
- 1973 — West Virginia becomes the first state to recognize grandparents.
- August 3, 1978 — President Carter signs Proclamation 4580, designating Sunday, September 10, 1978, as National Grandparents Day. It covers that one date and cites no statute.
- September 6, 1979 — Public Law 96-62 (H.J. Res. 244) authorizes and requests an annual proclamation, setting the date as the first Sunday of September following Labor Day. The House passed it July 27; the Senate, August 3.
- August 12, 1998 — Public Law 105-225 recodifies the provision as 36 U.S.C. section 125, where it reads "the first Sunday in September after Labor Day."
How to observe
Check the date before making plans. The statute keys the day to Labor Day rather than to a fixed calendar date, so it moves each year within a week-long window; the dates table below is generated from that rule.
Record a conversation instead of taking a photograph. The Library of Congress's American Folklife Center preserves the StoryCorps archive of recorded interviews between family members, and StoryCorps publishes question lists built for exactly this. An hour of a grandparent answering real questions is a different artifact from a group picture, and it is the one that becomes irreplaceable.
If you want the civic version of the day, the Census Bureau's figures are the argument McQuade was making. In 2021 about 6.7 million Americans aged 30 and over lived with a grandchild under 18, and roughly 32.7 percent of them were responsible for that child's care. The state-by-state breakdown is public, and looking up your own is a more useful hour than most things done for a greeting-card occasion.
Frequently asked questions
When is National Grandparents Day?
The first Sunday in September after Labor Day, under 36 U.S.C. section 125. Because Labor Day is itself the first Monday in September, the date moves within a week-long window each year.
Is National Grandparents Day a federal holiday?
No. The statute asks the President to issue a proclamation and calls on the public to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. It creates no day off, and federal offices, banks and schools operate normally.
Who started National Grandparents Day?
Marian McQuade of West Virginia, who began campaigning in 1970 after more than a decade of work on behalf of older West Virginians. Her own state recognized the day first, in 1973.
Did Jimmy Carter make it a national holiday in 1978?
Not quite, and this is the most commonly garbled part of the story. Carter's Proclamation 4580, signed August 3, 1978, designated a single date: September 10, 1978. The annual observance was created by Congress the next year, in Public Law 96-62, approved September 6, 1979.
When is National Grandparents Day?
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | September 12 | Sunday |
| 2028 | September 10 | Sunday |
| 2029 | September 9 | Sunday |
| 2030 | September 8 | Sunday |
| 2031 | September 7 | Sunday |
Sources
- Federal Register (archived), Proclamation 4580 — National Grandparents Day, 1978, Vol. 43, No. 152, August 7, 1978 — https://archives.federalregister.gov/issue_slice/1978/8/7/34753-34757.pdf → Carter's signing date of August 3, 1978; the designation of Sunday, September 10, 1978; the "elders of each family" purpose clause; the absence of any statutory citation in the proclamation.
- The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara, Proclamation 4580 — National Grandparents Day, 1978 — https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-4580-national-grandparents-day-1978 → the same proclamation text and the August 3, 1978 date, independently transcribed.
- U.S. Government Publishing Office, Public Law 96-62 (H.J. Res. 244), 93 Stat. 410 — https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-93/pdf/STATUTE-93-Pg410.pdf → the 1979 joint resolution creating the annual observance; approval on September 6, 1979; the "first Sunday of September following Labor Day" formula; House passage July 27 and Senate passage August 3, 1979.
- Cornell Legal Information Institute, 36 U.S. Code section 125 — National Grandparents Day — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/36/125 → the current codified text and date formula; recodification by Public Law 105-225 of August 12, 1998.
- Associated Press, Marian McQuade: Activist for elderly, 91, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, September 28, 2008 — https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/20080928_Marian_McQuade___Activist_for_elderly__91.html → McQuade's 1956 start on senior issues; the campaign launched in 1970; West Virginia first in 1973; her 15 children and 43 grandchildren; her death at 91 in Oak Hill, West Virginia.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Southern States Had Higher Than Average Share of Adults Age 30 and Over Who Lived With Grandchildren in 2021, March 19, 2024 — https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/03/grandparents-living-with-grandchildren.html → 6.7 million adults aged 30 and over living with grandchildren in 2021; 32.7 percent of them responsible for that care (2017-2021 American Community Survey, five-year estimates).
- Library of Congress, Preserving America's Voices: Who's Listening?, Folklife Today — https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2014/03/preserving-americas-voices-whos-listening/ → the StoryCorps interview archive preserved at the Library's American Folklife Center.
- Note on a source conflict: the Associated Press obituary says Carter "signed legislation" in 1978 setting the first Sunday after Labor Day. The primary documents say otherwise — the 1978 proclamation covers one date and cites no law, and the annual formula comes from the 1979 joint resolution. This page follows the primary documents.
Add to your calendarA calendar file for Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. This date moves, so the file carries the next 9 dates. You can also subscribe to this observance or to the whole calendar.
← See everything September 12 celebrates