National Brothers Day: is it Brother’s Day in the UK today, 2022 date, India origins - when is Sister’s Day?

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are well established concepts in the UK. But ‘National Brothers Day’?!

As the name suggests, National Brothers Day is a day designed to celebrate our male siblings, in much the same way we would on Mother’s or Father’s Day.

It differs from Siblings Day - which takes place just a week later and celebrates siblings of all genders - in that it focuses only on brothers.

Siblings Day - also known as Brothers and Sisters Day in Europe - falls on 31 May, and there are concerted efforts by the Siblings Day Foundation to get the day officially recognised.

But what is the upstart Brother’s Day? When is it, where does it come from, and how can you celebrate it?

Here is everything you need to know.

When is Brother’s Day 2022?

Brother’s Day falls on Tuesday 24 May in 2022.

Where did it come from?

It’s unclear where exactly Brother’s Day originated, but as with most fledgling ‘holidays’, it appears to be an American creation - though it appears to be more widely celebrated in India.

A quick search for “Brother’s Day” throws up a lot of results from Indian web pages, with New Delhi Television claiming it was first organised by “Alabama’s C. Daniel Rhodes” - a ceramic artist, sculptor and author - in 2005.

Helpfully, India’s News9Live’s history of the celebration says “there are no facts that how [sic] Brother’s Day came to be”, but again speculates as Daniel Rhodes of Alabama may be to blame.

The celebration appears to be so new that it is not particularly widespread, and whether its credibility goes beyond having been invented purely for marketing purposes remains to be seen.

The ”marketing” theory is supported further by alternate sources who suggest the day was actually founded by three young brothers aged two, five and seven, and celebrated for the first time at a Las Vegas Build-A-Bear...

Bear in mind that websites like daysoftheyear.com also claim 24 May is ‘National Tiara Day’, and ‘National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day’. These days, there’s a day for everything.

Clearly, the wide adoption of Brother’s Day would be a boon for companies looking to cash in on brotherly bonds, but it could be many more years until it is held in as high regard as its parental counterparts.

In the US, even the more widely celebrated Siblings Day is not yet federally recognised, so an ‘official’ holiday for our brothers could be a long way off.

How do I celebrate it?

In much the same way you would Father’s Day, or Mother’s Day.

If you haven’t spoken with a brother in a long time, you could use the day to reconnect with them; tell your brothers or those who have treated you like one how much you appreciate them by calling or meeting with them.

Giving hugs to your sibling, spending time with them, honouring their presence in your life, and greeting them on various social media sites using childhood images are all examples of other nonmaterial observances.

You could use the hashtag #BrothersDay to thank all your brothers if you’re posting images on social media.

When is Sister’s Day?

Sister’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August every year.

That means that in 2022, it will fall on Sunday 4 August.