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National Cousins Day

Family · July 24

National Cousins Day honors the relatives who are almost siblings: the cousins you grew up with, lost touch with, or just met at a reunion.

National Cousins Day falls on Saturday, July 24, 2027. That is 270 days away.

Cousins are the children of your parents' siblings. That plain definition covers a lot of ground. Some cousins are practically siblings, raised a street apart and dragged to the same holiday dinners. Others are names on a card, or faces you place only after someone explains whose kid they are.

The relationship has an odd, easy quality. You share grandparents, family stories and sometimes a nose, but nobody assigned you to look after each other. That leaves room for a friendship that is chosen and inherited at the same time. Plenty of people remember a cousin as the first person who taught them a card game, a bad word or how to climb a fence.

Marking the day is usually simple. People send a message to a cousin they have not talked to in a while, post an old photo from a summer visit, or call to settle a long-running argument about who broke what at Grandma's house. Larger families sometimes use it to start planning a get-together.

The family tree adds its own puzzles. A first cousin shares grandparents with you. A second cousin shares great-grandparents. "Once removed" means you sit one generation apart, like your parent's first cousin. Very few people can work this out quickly at a reunion, so it often gets settled with a napkin and a pen.

Ways to celebrate

• Text a cousin you have not spoken to in a long time.
• Share an old family photo and ask cousins to fill in the story.
• Sketch your family tree and sort out who is once removed.
• Cook a dish your shared grandparents used to make.

Dates

All national days on July 24

Also on July 24

• National Tequila Day
• National Drive-Thru Day
• Amelia Earhart Day
• National Day of the American Cowboy
• National Tell an Old Joke Day

Categories: Family days