It’s Father’s Day, again… Time to show Dad how much you appreciate him and everything he does for you. But I’m not just going to toss you some Father’s Day entertaining tips! I’ve got the back story on this special day, and some observations of my own to try and put it in perspective for you…
If your Dad really, really wants a mega-Full English Breakfast for Father’s Day,
then, that’s what you should make him!
This is the 118th Father’s Day, but it took a little time for the observance to gain traction across the Western World.
Father’s Day is a relatively new observance, created by a young woman who wanted to honour her father. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, WA, was sitting in church listening to a Mother’s Day sermon when she wondered, ‘Why not have a Father’s Day, too?’
Dodd got up a petition to the Mayor of Spokane, and the observance become official the next year. Dodd wanted Father’s Day to be held on June 5, her father’s birthday, but the Mayor moved it to June 19. The idea took off, but it was only observed in Spokane at first.
Remy Melina chronicles the evolution of the Day at livescience.com:
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge said that he supported it, in order to establish closer relationships between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations, according to the Library of Congress.
And the holiday gained more traction in 1938 when a trade organization, the National Council for the Promotion of Father’s Day, which was formed by men’s clothing retailers in New York City, decided to take up the cause, according to Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays (Princeton University Press, 1995).
President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers in 1966, but it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it a permanent holiday. Since then, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives.
And, from there, it just took off across the Western World.
Now-a-days, Father’s Day is more a commercial observance than a family celebration, but the spirit survives. And I think all dads enjoy being feted just as much as moms do on their Day.
A couple of years back, I posted some suggestions for making Father’s Day a little more enjoyable for Dad and easier for you. Those rules still apply!
Hope your Father’s Day is great and stress-free for all involved!
~ Maggie J.