National Aunt and Uncle Day Date in the current year: July 26, 2024

An aunt is a parent’s sibling or a woman married to a parent’s sibling; an uncle is her male counterpart. In some cultures and families, it is also customary to refer to one’s parents’ cousins (i.e. one’s cousins once removed) as aunts or uncles due to the age and generation gap. The words “aunt” and “uncle” are also used as a title of respect in some cultures or as a loving nickname for older people one is not related to but sees as their chosen family.

Aunts and uncles have different roles in various cultures, societies, and families. In some cultures, they’re essentially a second set of parents and are free to discipline their siblings’ kids. In some families, aunts and uncles spoil their niblings with presents, take them on fun trips, and do cool stuff with them.

Aunts and uncles have been widely portrayed in popular culture, both positively and negatively. Well-known fictional aunts and uncles include Ben and May Parker (the uncle and aunt of Spider-Man), Will’s aunt Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Scrooge McDuck from Disney comics and cartoons, Uncle Remus from Joel Chandler Harris’s collections of African American folktales, and many others.

It is unclear who came up with the idea of celebrating National Aunt and Uncle Day or when it happened, but it is clear as day that aunts and uncles deserve to be celebrated just as much as parents, grandparents, or siblings.

The best way to celebrate National Aunt and Uncle Day is to spend some quality time with your aunts and uncles. Take them out to lunch or dinner, host a family BBQ or a potluck, go through an old photo album, watch a movie, go on a hike or a picnic… The choice is up to you; what matters is that you make new happy memories with your aunts and uncles. If you’re not particularly close to your aunt or uncle, maybe National Aunt and Uncle Day is a great excuse to rectify that and get to know them a little better.

If your aunts and uncles don’t leave nearby, reach out to them to offer your congratulations and thank them for everything they’ve done for you. You can give them a call, shoot them a text, send them a postcard or a gift basket, or even organize a family reunion via Zoom. And don’t forget to post a photo with your aunts and uncles on social media using the hashtags #NationalAuntAndUncleDay and #AuntAndUncleDay to spread the word about the holiday.

And what if you don’t have an aunt or uncle? We have some good news for you: you can still celebrate National Aunt and Uncle Day! Even if your parents have no siblings, you probably have people in your life who have performed a similar role for you – godparents, close family friends, or even neighbors who babysat you when your parents were busy. Thank them for being in your life and tell them that you consider them your aunt/uncle – we’re sure they’ll appreciate it.