Why
do we celebrate Father's Day?
The
United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an
official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the
third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given
presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.
The
origin of Father's Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a
church service in West
Virginia in
1908. Others say the first Father's Day ceremony was held in
Vancouver, Washington
.
The
president of the Chicago branch of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek, 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,
the closest date to Meek's own birthday!
Regardless
of when the first true Father's Day occurred, the strongest promoter
of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs.
Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the
Civil
War.
His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their
mother.
In
1909, Mrs. Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane
about having a church service dedicated to fathers on June 5, her
father's birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare
the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then
on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as
Father's Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their
fathers if they lived apart.
States
and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual
Father's Day. In 1916, President
Woodrow Wilson approved
of this idea, but it was not until 1924 whenPresident
Calvin Coolidge made
it a national event to "establish more intimate relations
between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the
full measure of their obligations." Since then, fathers had been
honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on
the third Sunday in June.
When
children can't visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they
send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards
that are not too sentimental. Most greeting cards are whimsical so
fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for
being there whenever the child needed Dad.
HAPPY
FATHER's DAY to all caring and hard working Daddies and Fathers out
there – we love you all!
Susanne
