MDBCs 24 Jul 2024

Cousins are fun to be with – they are almost like your siblings but you don’t have to share all your prized possessions with them all the time. Celebrate them on Cousins Day, an annual celebration of the special bond you share with your cousins.

Celebrated every year on July 24, the unofficial holiday is also sometimes known as National Cousins Day.

Shared Ancestors

In general, cousins are relatives with whom we share an ancestor, though in many cultures the term is commonly used to refer to the children of our aunts and uncles. In genealogy, which is the study of families and their history, a relationship between cousins - two people who have a common ancestor - is named after which generation they belong to.

The Many Different Types of Cousins

When cousins are from the same generation, they are known as first, second or third cousins. For example, first cousins are children of siblings - your uncle and aunt's children will be your first cousins. The children of first cousins are second cousins, and the children of second cousins are third cousins.

On the other hand, when two people are not from the same generation, their relationship is described by adding the word removed. First cousin once removed, for example, is used to describe the relationship between a person and the children of his or her first cousin - your first cousin's child will be your first cousin once removed. First cousin once removed can also be used to refer to a parent's first cousin.

Confused? One easy way to remember is that once removed means that there is a separation of one generation between the two relatives. Twice removed means there are two generations between them. The same logic applies to other degrees of cousinhood.

How to Celebrate?

Send a note or message to your cousins wishing them a happy Cousins Day. Tell them that you love them and you care about them.
If you live close to your cousins, why not get together with them and their families and do something fun?
If your cousins live far away, you could video chat with them or talk to them over the phone.

Did You Know...

...that a genogram is a type of a family tree that includes medical, hereditary, and psychological information about the members of the family?

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Hannu wants everything to be perfect for his anniversary trip to the hotel where he and his wife honeymooned 30 years earlier. So he gets there a day early to make all the arrangements. That night, he e-mails her but misspells the address, and the message goes to a recent widow.

The next day, the widow's son finds his mother passed out in front of her computer. On the screen is this e-mail:

“My darling wife, I've just gotten here and everything's set for your arrival tomorrow. I hope your trip down here will be as pleasant as mine.

“P.S. It's really hot!”

***

My cousin always “borrows” money from her older brother's piggy bank, which drives him crazy. One day, she found the piggy in, of all places, the freezer.

Inside was this note:

“Dear sister, I hope you'll understand, but my capital has been frozen.”

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Did you hear about the weekly poker game with Vasco da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Leif Eriksson, and Francisco Pizarro?

They can never seem to beat the Straights of Magellan.

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“What are you doing?” asked my mother after I pressed several  buttons on her microwave.