Since 2010, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Taiwan has spearheaded an annual campaign to encourage all generations to pay more attention to honoring our elders on Grandparents Day.
Grandparents Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in August every year. Taiwan has now officially become an aged society, with people 65 or over making up 14% of the population, and the important role of the older generation in families has come to the attention of the international community. We should respect them highly and treasure their values and life wisdom.
This special day provides an annual opportunity to express our gratitude to all the grandparents for their selfless commitment to their families, and their many lifelong sacrifices nurturing family relationships. This year, people throughout Taiwan honored their grandparents on August 26. 
The theme for this year’s Grandparents Day is “I wouldn’t be here without you” and the Ministry of Education organized a flash mob street performance to remind people of their grandparents’ vitality and to advocate on their behalf.
For this event, 100 young people dressed up as old people suddenly assembled and danced on the street near crowded bustling Ximen MRT Station. On the same day, three happiness charms were given to families there. The three happiness charms symbolize “children, parents, and grandparents” who each play vital roles in a family.
Another highlight of the day was the launch of an app called “Martial Arts School” specially designed to enhance the relationship and facilitate bonding between grandparents and their grandchildren. The app has a game that involves children giving their grandparents massages, and the children need to play the game with their grandparents in order to accomplish all the tasks.
We can all start to do more great things with the older generations in our lives, as well as simply staying connected and treating them with gratitude. Our precious traditions and cultures, along with our religion and history, all get passed down through them to the younger generations, and we should learn as much as we can from them. They can become close companions.