💠 National Family Day 💠 (26/09/21)

National Family Day, celebrated anually on September 26, helps us to appreciate those that make our lives meaningful. Families come in many forms and sizes, and under or within different circumstances; but what they all share is, unconditional love and support for those 'growing' on the same family tree.

The family unit is an indispensable part of human society. At its core, the family is composed of biological relatives like parents, siblings, grandparents, and cousins, as well as spouses and in-laws.

The nuclear family unit — parents and children — typically makes up most Western households. In other cultures, extended families share households, and adult children are expected to care for their older relatives.

Throughout history, the definition of family has evolved to include non-traditional, extended clans, and even tightly-knit friend groups. For those without close ties to their blood relatives, 'chosen' family provides much-needed love and support.

Officially, scientific study of the family unit began in the late 19th century, and crystallized as a subfield of sociology in the 1960's. Since then, social scientists have paid special attention to a family’s role in shaping individual behavior and how location, culture, and individual circumstances, affect family structures.

According to psychologists, family ties are critical for healthy development. Research shows that the higher the quality of familial relationships, the more significant the positive effects on well-being, are.

Because family is such an important structure for people around the world, it certainly makes sense to devote a day to appreciating and engaging with the important people in our lives.

The word ‘family’ is not limited to a nuclear one; anyone with whom a meaningful bond develops, becomes family. Friends, pets, neighbours, all fall under the term.

Quotes about family:

Family is not an important thing. It's everything.

I sustain myself with the love of family.

My mother used to tell me that when push comes to shove, you always know who to turn to. That being a family isn't a social construct but an instinct.

Family love is messy, clinging and of an annoying and repetitive pattern, like bad wallpaper.

Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city.

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.