Grandparents’ Day Is Celebrated On Different Dates Around The World!
Turn Grandparent Memories Into a Personalized Story
Celebrate the names, faces, and family moments that make a grandparent relationship special with a book created for them.
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As Grandparents’ Day approaches, we found ourselves wondering - why are there so many different dates for celebrating grandparents around the world? Why don’t we all honour these incredible humans on the same day? I figured you might be just as curious, so I did a little digging and a little writing to help uncover the story behind the dates!
Throughout history, different cultures and communities have created their own traditions and customs to celebrate the elders in their families. From joyful celebrations in Brazil to heartfelt moments in Japan, each country has its own unique way of showing love and appreciation for grandparents.
In this blog, I explored how Grandparents’ Day is celebrated across the globe - and the cultural, historical, and even religious influences that shaped when and how this special day came to be. Whether it’s the first Sunday after Labour Day in the United States, July 26th in Portugal and Brazil, or the third Monday of September in Japan, each date carries meaning and memories deeply rooted in its country’s values.
USA 🇺🇸 (First Sunday After Labor Day)
Let’s kick things off in the good ol’ US of A! In the early 1960s, a heartfelt idea began when Jacob Reingold - who worked at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale - put together a humble Grandparents’ Day celebration inspired by a push for a new image of aging in America. By 1961, Bronx neighbors were already saying “Happy Grandparents Day!”
Fast forward to the 1970s: West Virginian grandma Marian McQuade, made it her mission to honor grandparents nationwide. She first got it proclaimed in her home state in 1973, and after tireless campaigning, Congress officially made the first Sunday after Labor Day into National Grandparents Day in 1978. President Carter signed it into law, and America finally got its official celebration of grandparents in 1979!
Brazil & Portugal 🇧🇷🇵🇹 (July 26)
Heading over to Brazil and Portugal, we find a beautiful fusion of culture and faith. These countries toast their nonnas and nonnos on July 26, aligning with the Catholic feast day of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne—who, per tradition, were none other than Mary’s parents (aka Jesus’s grandparents). The idea is that honoring them honors the value grandparents bring to our world. In Portugal, a grandmother named Dona Aninhas took up the mantle in the 1980s to make this a formal celebration—true grassroots power at its best!
Who Will You Make a Book For Today?
General Questions
Manimal Tales is a publisher of beautifully illustrated personalized books. We have personalized books for children and adults. From birthday books to new baby tales, and from bedtime stories to ABC books, we have custom books for all occasions!
We even offer PhotoStories, our personalized picture books with photos.
At Manimal Tales, we fervently believe every child should be the hero of their own story!
Personalized books (or custom books as they are sometimes referred to) allow the reader to become the hero of the story - literally.
The main character in the story is the reader / receiver of the book, and is represented by an avatar that looks like them. There are usually lots of additional personalized details printed in the stories, including the receiver's name, age, family members and more.
Our PhotoStories offer a whole new level of personalization by allowing you to add your own photos into the story and have them printed out with the book.
Browse through our collection of custom books to see which ones work for your loved ones!
It's super easy to personalize your own book!
Browse through our collection of personalized stories and select the titles you want. On the product page, add the details required to personalize the book (name, age, family members, photos etc.). You can then preview the entire book before you buy, so you know exactly what you're going to get!
Once you're satisfied, add the book to your cart, enter your payment details and your unique, one-of-a-kind personalized book will arrive on your doorstep in 6 to 9 days!
The short answer is that it depends on the personalized book title in question!
All books will have your loved one as the main protagonist and their name will be printed on the book cover as well as in the story.
In some of our books like Dreamland and What Will I Be? the (the An ABC Story) your loved one's name is printed on every page.
In our Manimal Tales series, in addition to your child's name, you can select an avatar that looks like your child.
In our custom baby tales, Your Baby's Story and Your Baby's Story (Sibling version), you have to enter names and select avatars for the parents and the siblings as well.
And for our PhotoStories, you can further customize the books by uploading and adding your own photos directly into the book. The stories have been written to incorporate the photos as part of the story itself.
Whichever personalized book you do choose, we guarantee your loved one's will love our custom tales just as much as we do!
We have books for all ages and occasions! On the menu bar at the top of the page you can filter through our collections of personalized books by a variety of different criteria.
We have personalized books for:
We also offer custom books with engaging stories about:
- Standing up for your beliefs
We have personalized books across all ages:
Lastly we have our PhotoStories, which allow users to upload photos and have them become part of the story!
Nothing beats getting a book with your name on it!
Personalized books are treasured and loved by all, and make great keepsakes.
We offer custom books for all occasions, ensuring you will always find a book to meet your needs.
You can always reach us by filling out our Contact Form.