National Daughters Day
National Daughters' Day is celebrated every year on September 25th. It is a day for parents to honor their daughters and show them how much they are appreciated. This is also a day for parents to reflect on the value of an equal and fair upbringing, which will allow daughters to be strong and thrive throughout their lives.
National Daughters Day is different from International Daughters Day which is recognized worldwide and celebrated on the fourth Sunday in September.
Both occur at the end of September and sometimes the two events are celebrated on the same date. In 2023, it falls on 24th September, just the day before National Daughters' Day.
Origin of National Daughters Day
National Daughters Day has a long history in America, being celebrated at least as far back as 1932. In that year newspapers in Vermont reported that The Daughters of Union Veterans met for a combined Christmas and Daughters Day celebration in December.
During the evening, each woman was given a bouquet of roses, watched a music recital, enjoyed refreshments, and at the end, everyone was presented with a decorated cupcake.
There are examples of National Daughters Day celebrations at other times of the year. For example in the state of Indiana in April 1954, although there is no information available on how it was observed.
For decades the holiday was mostly forgotten until a company in India called Archies Limited reinvented Daughters Day. Anil Moolchandani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Archies Limited said in an interview in 2007 "As the original creator of beautiful days and a leader in the social expression industry, we decided to do something about the plight of the girl child."
They created the holiday to raise awareness of the struggle girls have in parts of India, where they are considered a burden, and inferior to sons. This holiday, which was revived in 2007, aims to encourage people to show their daughters how proud they are of them and that they are loved.
We constituted September 23 as Daughter's Day - a day dedicated to the beauty of the parent-daughter relation. We wanted parents to not only feel proud of having daughters but also express their love and celebrate it too.
The growth of the celebration of Daughters Day in India led to a renewal of interest in National Daughters Day and the celebrations began again, encouraged by social media it quickly became popular.
The Importance Of National Daughters Day
This issue of gender imbalance has also been present in the United States, where for years women have been discriminated against and faced bigger obstacles than men. For example, issues such as the gender pay gap are still prevalent to this day. The #MeToo movement also highlighted the dangers that some women face from violent and abusive individuals.
National Daughters Day is a day for parents to show daughters how important they are, and to also empower them and show them that they are just as valuable to society as men.
It is equally important for daughters to feel valued in a family. In single-parent families or families with many children whose parents can't afford child care, it can sometimes fall to the eldest daughter to take care of the children and the household when adults are absent.
Daughters also often have strong bonds with both their mother and their father and commonly tend to be the ones that take care of their parents when they're older.
Online Reaction to Daughters Day
The day has become very popular on social media where mothers share photos of themselves with their daughters along with the hashtag #NationalDaughtersDay. It is also a great opportunity to write and share a couple of thoughts and feelings online about your daughter.
The celebration faced some scrutiny online in 2021 when it was alleged by some on social media that the holiday was invented by Russians and Eastern Europeans in order to extract information and images about individuals. This is proven to be false by the evidence of historic celebrations across America.
What to do on National Daughters Day
- In 2023, National Daughters Day falls on a Monday, so why not show your daughters how much you appreciate them by dedicating not only this entire day to them but the whole weekend, too?
- What do they want to do? Maybe go shopping, to the cinema, or to the amusement park. If the weather is good they might want to go swimming, cycling, or hiking. Museums are also an option if they are fond of history.
- This is a great opportunity to learn more about your daughters and their interests. Celebrating with food makes any occasion extra special. Spending the day in the kitchen baking together is a great way of bonding whilst also teaching your girl new skills. Let your daughters choose what they want for dinner or take them out to their favorite restaurant.
- At the same time, your daughters might just want to be left alone and do their own thing today. Allowing them to have their independence is important and also shows appreciation for them, simply by showing that you respect them.
- If your daughter happens to be away during this time, make sure to give them a call or send a care package to let them know how much you care.
- Lastly, do not forget about all the daughters out there in orphanages and NGOs. Make sure to visit the unprivileged girls to shower them with some love.
Whatever it is that you decide to do on this special day, make sure to celebrate all the daughters across the USA, and have a very happy Daughters Day!
Don’t forget to also celebrate the following dates if you have a son, or a son and a daughter:
National Son and Daughter Day on August 11.
National Sons Day on September 28.
