Father's Day today: History and significance

Father's Day is observed worldwide on the third Sunday of June each year. This year, it fell on June 18. Not only is the day dedicated to celebrating and appreciating biological fathers but also to father figures who are just as important in everyone’s lives.

From guidance to protection and playfulness, children often find their best friends in their fathers. In this regard, many people celebrate Father’s Day across the globe, either by arranging special gifts or spending time with their father, or both.

Even though many people are aware of the day, they may not know how the history behind it. Dating back over a hundred years, Father’s Day is truly special!

Father’s Day celebration began over a hundred years ago in the US in honour of William Smart.

His daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, wanted to allocate his birthday, June 5, as Father’s Day after being inspired by Anna Jarvis establishing Mother’s Day. However, because her initial appeals to the church and her pastor were rejected, the date was shifted to the third Sunday of each June.

After much deliberation and rallying local church support, Dodd was able to establish Father’s Day in 1910 in memory of her Civil War veteran father, who had raised six children single-handedly.

In just six years, the celebration became so popular that in 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson officially observed it while in Spokane, Washington, Dodd’s hometown.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged states to observe the holiday. Finally, in 1966, President Lyndon B Johnson made the first presidential proclamation that honoured fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. President Richard Nixon made this proclamation permanent in 1972.

In some countries, such as Spain and Lithuania, Father’s Day is considered a public holiday.

/KN/