Observed on the first Sunday in August, American Family Day is a holiday that encourages all Americans to spend the day with their families. By the time this holiday arrives in August, summer is on its way out. You’re running out of time to have spent some quality time with your family, so why not take advantage of it and celebrate this holiday? After all, life is short, so we should act like that is the case and spend what precious time we have left with our family.

The History of American Family Day

American Family Day is a holiday that can trace its roots back to the mid-1970s. It was signed into law as an official holiday by Governor Raul Castro in Arizona on August 7, 1977. Although it originally started as a one-year proclamation, it has been gaining steam over the years, and more people have taken up celebrating it.

Facts About the American Family

We wanted to round out this discussion on this holiday, so we’ve decided to go ahead and talk about some of the interesting facts that we’ve discovered about the American family. Below are the facts that we think everyone will want to discover—regardless of whether they’re celebrating this holiday or not. Let’s take a quick look at them, shall we?

• Approximately three out of four American families have departed from the nuclear family model.
• The divorce rate in the U.S. is one of the highest in the world.
• About three out of five children born in the U.S. this year will live in a single-parent household for at least a portion of their childhood.
• About half of the marriages in the U.S. will end in divorce this year.
• According to research, receiving welfare is not a major contributing factor to the increase in out-of-wedlock childbearing.
• Many workplaces in the U.S. haven’t kept up with the needs of their workers and families in the 21st century.
• More women are the breadwinners of their families more than at any other time in history.
• More men are in the home as caregivers than at any other time in history.
• Approximately half of the American labor force is made up of women.
• Both men and women face significant challenges as they attempt to balance work life and family life in the U.S.
• A large percentage of U.S. children live in a household where both parents work every day.

Observing American Family Day

American Family Day is simple enough for you to observe if you want. All you have to do is spend the day with your family doing an activity of your choice. You can have a BBQ, a picnic, or merely spend the day watching movies. It’s all up to you. The point of this holiday is to spend the precious time you have with your family. To encourage other people to celebrate this holiday, use the hashtag #AmericanFamilyDay on your social media accounts.