Grandparents Day is celebrated in various countries and on various dates around the world. In North America it is celebrated on the first Sunday in September following Labour Day.
The official flower for Grandparents Day is the Forget-Me-Not which echoes the work of genealogists and family historians who aim to record, preserve and share our ancestors stories. Grandparents are key in helping genealogists build family trees and understanding cousin relationships.
“Grandparenthood” is a universal status that has changed throughout human history. These days, grandparents are likely to be healthier, wealthier and longer-lived than ever before. In some cultures, grandparents live with grandchildren and play an active and direct role while in other cultures, grandparents step in when needed and called upon.
I was lucky to have known all four of my beloved grandparents:
- Rhea (Coughlin) Moynahan (1902-1992) who made the best date squares, sewed summer tops for her grandchildren, wrote each of her grandchildren's names on vintage metal drinking glasses, and had cousins play penny and dice games on her kitchen table, etc
- Ernest Joseph Moynahan (1900-1974) who had strong hands, smoked a sweet-smelling tobacco, would give the grandchildren pocket change to go to the corner store and would listen to Detroit baseball games on his transistor radio sitting on his Marentette Avenue veranda, etc
- Dorothy (Moreland) Creighton (1909-2000) who told us about our England connection, stories about Halifax, crocheted and knitted slippers, scarves, mitts and doilies, made the best English trifle, etc
- Frederick Douglas Creighton (1907-1996) who worked at the Halifax shipyards, loved playing cards (especially cribbage), quizzed his grandchildren with questions about life, etc
Below is a vintage movie taken on a visit to our Moynahan grandparents home in Windsor, Ontario. These visits were always filled with much happiness, love, laughter and so many good memories. (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaqEVyq2NAQ )
By sharing family stories, grandparents can be key in building resilience in their grandchildren ... especially when they share " the stories about the hard stuff endured by our ancestors (like "we came here with nothing").
Hearing about our ancestor's setbacks and losses (and how they got
through them) can be a "secret super power" for children when they
have to overcome some inevitable obstacle in their life." (Source: "Telling My Settler Stories")
Grandparents have so much to offer us all like traditions and family rituals.
I remember my daughter's 1991 Christening when we arrived at the home of my husband's grandmother (my daughter's great grandmother) Bernadette (Donivan) Plaus (1913-1994) and she placed a silver dollar in my infant daughter's hand.
"What is that for?" I asked to which she responded that it was an old Irish custom to place a silver coin in the child's hand before the christening ceremony begins to ensure that the child will have a prosperous life.
1991 Christening
Traditions and rituals such as this get lost over time. Grandparents Day is a perfect opportunity to recall the lives of our grandparents and our great-grandparents and share with future generations.
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| My mother, grandmothers and great-grandmothers |
The stories of these women (pictured above) can inspire future generations ... a local midwife in Ontario in the 1800s, a young girl who survived the Halifax explosion and a young mother who saved her own daughter from drowning even though she herself could NOT swim. A woman ice boating in Ontario in the 1920s ... a sport generally pursued by men! The same woman would also organize a Valentines Day dance for 300 guests in 1929 ... with her future husband in attendance! There are so many more stories ...
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| My father, Grandfathers and great-grandfathers |
The stories of these men (pictured above) serve to inspire as well. A young boy sent to a Glasgow workhouse then signing up for the Garrison Artillery, widowed, at war overseas suffering and recovering through a mustard gas attack. A young boy who was on a whaling expedition for three years
in the Arctic, and sailed every windjammer on the Great lakes a hardy
and fearless sailor right up to his 71st birthday! A teacher who taught his mother to read. A glassblower who witnessed the impact of automation, a stevedore in Halifax harbour who burned plates onto the great ships!
Countless stories handed down through grandparents over the centuries. So many life lessons containing wisdom that can be useful still today. Let's share these stories on Grandparents Day and EVERY day of the year.
How Many Grandparents Do You Know?
With accessibility to DNA testing designed to assist and enhance genealogist's efforts to build family trees, I asked myself this very question recently using the chart below. Based on my DNA results, Ancestry Thrulines feature indicated that I had ancestors who were my 5th great-grandparents. I wanted to review how many of my 128 5th great-grandparents did I know?
I know the 28 names of all of my grandparents, great-grandparents and 2nd great-grandparents, however, I have gaps in my 3rd great-grandparents and know only 29 of the 32 names.
For my 4th and 5th great grandparents, I can reliably name under 50 of the 192 and some of these are known only because they were shoemakers, or jewelers, or soldiers.
With certainty, of my 128 5th great-grandparents, I know of only ten (from the 1700s): Annal/Stewart, Sangster/Barron, Arrowsmith/Davidson, Mullholland/Kinnaird and Ralph/Gibbon. Ancestry is suggesting that I have 36 linked to me through DNA and family trees (beware ancestry family trees).
I continue my search for grandparents knowing that I will never locate them all.
In 2017 I wrote about National Grandparents Day and I issued a challenge in keeping with Diane Nolin's CHALLENGE: "Tell a story as told to you by one of your grandparents!". I asked several questions back then and I would like to revise my challenge to the following:
- Is there a special family saying or a quote that one of your grandparents said to you? Is this quote or saying something that you rely upon or repeat to others?
- Is there a family ritual or tradition that you remember your grandparents doing that was special or that no one seems to do anymore?
- Tell a story about a grandparent you knew and loved.
- Tell a story about a grandparent you never knew, but heard about all your life growing up.
If you are looking for ideas about ways to celebrate Grandparents Day 2021, the following resources may be useful:
- Family Search: Building Family Bonds on Grandparents Day
- The Ancestry Agency: 4 Fun Ways to Celebrate National Grandparents Day
- The Old Farmers Almanac: Grandparents Day 2021
- Growing Little Leaves: Kid-friendly genealogy for children
- Grandparents Day Planning and Activity Guide: the largest and most comprehensive online source of free ideas and activities for a Grandparents Day event at any time of the year
- 27 Activities For Grandparents Day
- For children from Scholastic: How to Celebrate Grandparents Day (includes templates for small children to use)
All of my grandparents have passed, therefore on Grandparents Day I will speak their names, recall their stories, and give thanks.
"As long as you speak my name I shall live forever"
African Proverb
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