International Day of Families is celebrated globally on May 15. As we observe this important day, it is timely to reflect on what makes a family happy and how can a family become a positive building block of the community.

Family has a great and far-reaching influence on the well-being and the social progress of its members. Healthy family relationships are as important for the happiness and contentment of each family member as they are for the well-being of the society. If loving, unified, vital and joyful, a family can provide the ideal conditions for the well-being of its members in all facets of life – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

The Bahá’í Writings state: "If love and agreement are manifest in a single family, that family will become illumined and spiritual" and "… where unity existeth in a given family, the affairs of that family are conducted; what progress the members of that family make, how they prosper in the world, their concerns are in order, they enjoy comfort and tranquility, they are secure, their position is assured, they come to be envied by all”.

Despite the ever-evolving and often difficult situation in societies today, the family unit continues to provide the basic and practical
life experience, and to foster a sense of responsibility and of values such as love, caring and sharing.

Unity in the family and its impact on our communities According to the Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í international community: “The family unit, the nucleus of human society, constitutes a space within which praiseworthy morals and essential capacities must be developed, for the habits and patterns of conduct nurtured in the home are carried into the workplace, into the social and political life of the country, and finally into the arena of international relations”.

Therefore, a united and spiritually motivated family has a direct impact on the well-being of the wider community, the harmony of the nation, and, ultimately, the healthy functioning of human society. Thus, strengthening the family is necessary for individual well-being and development of a social order based on justice and unity.

The family provides a fertile ground to nurture children to love the Creator, to become spiritually minded, to "conform to the rules
of good conduct," and to acquire "all the graces and praiseworthy qualities of humankind".

The spiritual and social values that our children and youth learn at home will apply not only in the context of the family, but outside in
the local and national community, as well as in the world community itself. Therefore, we as parents need to devote time and effort to the children's upbringing. It is more effective, of course, to show our children what is right and how to behave by the example of our own lives.

Uniting both physically and spiritually Marriage is an important mechanism for the maturation, and realization of one's many potentials. According to the Bahá’í Writings marriage is "a fortress for well-being and salvation.” and married couples should strive to become "loving companions and comrades and at one with each other for time and eternity”.