In my mind, at least, any time a lot of family members get together (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July cookout, with all the aunts and cousins and grandkids), that’s a family gathering. They tend to encompass up to four generations of direct descendants from one original couple.
A family reunion is more of a gathering of the diaspora. This is when you make a point of inviting every collateral relative no matter how distant the connection, or how far away they live, for a chance to reconnect with people they haven’t seen in years, and meet the new additions. This is when the second and third cousins get invited, as well as the first cousins. We’re talking about the fifth and sixth generations of descendants. Weddings and funerals are a kind of family reunion, but some families like to organize them for their own sake.
Answers & Comments
In my mind, at least, any time a lot of family members get together (Christmas, Thanksgiving, Fourth of July cookout, with all the aunts and cousins and grandkids), that’s a family gathering. They tend to encompass up to four generations of direct descendants from one original couple.
A family reunion is more of a gathering of the diaspora. This is when you make a point of inviting every collateral relative no matter how distant the connection, or how far away they live, for a chance to reconnect with people they haven’t seen in years, and meet the new additions. This is when the second and third cousins get invited, as well as the first cousins. We’re talking about the fifth and sixth generations of descendants. Weddings and funerals are a kind of family reunion, but some families like to organize them for their own sake.