Father's Day
Traditionally observed day in many countries
Father's Day is a celebration that honours the role of fathers and forefathers. It is a modern holiday, though the ancient Romans did have a tradition of honouring fathers, every February, but only those who had deceased.
Around the world, Father's Day is celebrated on different dates though the day is celebrated in a similar manner, usually involving giving gifts to fathers and family activities.
In the USA, the first noted Father's Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was first celebrated as a church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church.
It is said that Grace Golden Clayton suggested the service to the pastor as a memorial after a mine explosion in nearby Monongah had killed 361 men the previous winter. Another explanation for the service was Mothers' Day, which had been celebrated for the first time two months prior in Grafton, a town that was 15 miles away.
An alternative claim for the inventor of Father's Day is the president of the Chicago branch of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek. He is said to have celebrated the first Father's Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, which was the closest Sunday to Meek's birthday.
A key figure in the establishment of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, whose father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent reared his six children. Mrs Dodd initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death as a date for Father's Day. It is claimed she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make the arrangements, and thus the celebration was put back to the third Sunday of June.
The first Father's Day in June was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended the day as a national holiday.
President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 1966, though the day was not officially recognised until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.
Over 100 million Father’s Day cards will be expected to be given this year in the United States, making Father’s Day the fifth-largest card-sending occasion.
Source: Hallmark research
50% of all Father’s Day cards are purchased by sons or daughters. Nearly 20% of cards are bought by wives for their husbands; the remaining cards are bought for grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles and "someone special."
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