Father's  Day

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Father's Day is a day honoring fathers, a day on which the people of many countries express gratitude and appreciation for their fathers by giving them gifts or greeting cards. In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and some other Commonwealth countries, Father's Day falls on the third Sunday in June, or, in Australia and New Zealand, first Sunday in September.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., got the idea to set aside a special day to honor fathers in 1909, after listening to a sermon on Mother's Day. She wanted to honor her father, William Jackson Smart. Smart's wife died in 1898, and he raised their six children on his own. Dodd drew up a petition recommending adoption of a national father's day. The Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) supported it. Through Sonora Dodd's efforts, Spokane celebrated the first Father's Day on June 19, 1910. Over the years, many resolutions to make the day an official national holiday were introduced. Finally, in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon signed Father's Day into law.


Form: Microsoft Encarta Dictionary + World Book Encyclopedia, 2005

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The History of Father's Day


Father's Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards.

In fact when a "father's day" was first proposed there were no Father's Day cards!

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington.

At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day.".

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.

Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.

From: http://www.holidays.net/father/

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When is Father's Day Around the World?

While in the Father's Day US is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June - worldwide many countries also celebrate Father's Day throughout the year.

Here is a list of worldwide Father's Day observances in order of calendar date.

Date	Country / region
March 14 (24 Esfand)	Iran
March 19	Belgium (St Joseph 's day), Bolivia, Honduras, Italy, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Spain
May 8	South Korea (Parents' Day)
Ascension Day	Germany (Herrentag; drinking day, no celebration of Fatherhood)
First Sunday of June	Lithuania
June 5 (Constitution Day)	Denmark
Second Sunday of June	Austria, Ecuador, Belgium (secular celebration)
June 17	El Salvador, Guatemala
Third Sunday of June	Argentina, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Guyana, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
June 23	Nicaragua, Poland, Uganda
July 30	Vietnam
Second Sunday of July	Uruguay
Last Sunday of July	Dominican Republic
Second Sunday of August	Brazil
August 8	Taiwan, China
First Sunday of September	Australia, New Zealand
New Moon of September (Bhadra as per Lunar Calendar) September 11	Nepal
First Sunday of October	Luxembourg
Second Sunday of November	Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden
December 5	Thailand