2015-10-02 01:00:00

2 October: celebrating Guardian Angels and Grandparents


(Vatican Radio) October 2 is the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels. It is also the day we celebrate Grandparents Day.

“La Festa dei Nonni” as it is called in Italy, was introduced in 2005 with a law that described the observance as: "a moment to celebrate the importance of the role played by grandparents within families and society in general".

Italy was thought to be the first country in Europe to take such a step. But in the US the first Sunday after Labour Day is National Grandparents Day and has been since 1978.

At Milan’s Expo the National Day is receiving much attention as thanks to the Dutch Pavilion, grandparents have been celebrated throughout the whole week!

From September 28 to October 2, Expo’s Dutch Pavilion, with a series of events dedicated to flowers (the key symbol of the Netherlands) has also been host to activities related to Grandparents Day with music and workshops for children with plants.

A project, Charles Lansdorp explains, that fits perfectly with the initiative thanks to the bond that flowers and plants are able to create between different generations.

Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni spoke to Lansdorp, one of the initiators of “Grandparents Day” and President of the “I Felini” Foundation which aims to improve communication between generations.

Listen to the interview: 

Charles Lansdorp explains how the Foundation was set up and how it is tied to Dutch soccer player Clarence Seedorf who will be honored, on this occasion, by the creation of a new orange Rose named after him.

He points out that the fact that Grandparents’ Day is on the same day as the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels is beautiful and appropriate as “Grandparents are often the protecting angels of their grandchildren”.

He says that since the National Day was established in Italy many other countries have also embraced the initiative.

Lansdorp says this is not only because the population in Europe is aging and there are more and more grandparents, but also thanks to the role grandparents play in educating, passing on skills, traditions and principles to young people.

Pointing out that our grandparents were the ones who re-built Europe after the war, the ones who bore the hardships and made the sacrifices that produced much of the comfort we enjoy today, Lansdorp says we have much to thank and to celebrate our grandparents for.  








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