In the United States, United Kingdom and certain other developed nations, Grandparent’s Day is a national public holiday.

In Malaysia, Father’s Day and Mother's Day are celebrated with much enthusiasm, yet the first Sunday of every October since 2015, being Grandparent’s Day, has been a lacklustre affair as compared to celebrations for parents.

Surely the sacrifices of grandparents are worth recognising. In some aspects, they have better wisdom and life experiences as compared to parents.

For those grandparents still around, they should be appreciated for their years of wisdom. After all, without grandparents, there would not be parents to produce descendants.

Grandparents are a source of legacy and history. I remember listening attentively to my maternal grandmother as she told me about the horrors she encountered hiding, surviving and running away from Malaya, and the road trip she made back to Beijing when the Japanese invaded during the last world war.

The passed-down stories of my maternal grandfather are truly inspiring, detailing the chronological events of my grandfather supplying weapons and regrouping a ragtag army to fight a hopeless war that they were fast losing against the invading Japanese during World War II.

I am proud to be his descendant as he played a small part in contributing to the fight for China and Malaya, despite being listed as a war criminal by the invaders.

We should have a public holiday to remember and treasure our grandparents as they are more likely to be of an advanced age, having completed a substantial part of their life journeys. They would not have that many years left to be treasured.