Father’s Day: Why and how it came to exist
Posted June 19, 2015 1:59 pm.
Last Updated June 19, 2015 2:07 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Some would say Father’s Day is just an excuse for card makers to pad their profits, but beyond the commercialization of the day there is actual meaning behind it.
Sit back, and let us enlighten you with some facts you may or may not know about Father’s Day.
Inspiration behind the day
In 1909, Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church, when she was inspired to create a special day to honour her father — William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who raised six children on a farm.
However, the early beginnings of Father’s Day can be traced back to July 5, 1908, when a church in West Virginia held a Sunday sermon to honour men who died in a coal mine explosion in Monongah, a town in Marion County. It’s viewed as the United States’ first event specifically held to honour fathers.
Celebrating the first Father’s Day
In the U.S., the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 17, 1910. Spokane’s mayor chose that day because Smart was born in that month.
The day became official in 1966, when then U.S. president Lyndon Johnson declared the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. In 1972, then president Richard Nixon signed it into law.
No day off on Father’s Day
In Canada and the U.S., Father’s Day is not a federal public holiday, but since it falls on a Sunday, many people have the day off.
Movement to create Parents’ Day
According to History.com, a movement arose in the U.S. during the 1920s and 1930s to merge Mother’s Day and Father’s Day into a single holiday. However, the movement was stunted during the Depression when retailers and advertisers used Father’s Day as a “second Christmas” for men. Then, during the Second World War, some suggested the day be used to honour U.S. troops.
Father’s Day around the world
In many countries around the world, the day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. However, some other countries mark it on other days.
Click here for Father’s Day dates around the world.
Compiled using information from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Library of Congress
