History of Father's Day in US
Modern version of Father's Day celebration originated in the US and thereafter the tradition spread in countries around the world. The world owes thanks to Ms Sonora Louise Smart Dodd a loving daughter from Spokane, Washington as it is because of her struggle that Father's Day saw the light of the day.
The idea of Father's Day celebration originated in Sonora's mind when she listened to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Fairly mature at the age 27, Sonora pondered if there is a day to honor mother then why not for father? Sonora felt strongly for fathers because of the affection she received from her own father Mr William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran. Sonora's mother died during childbirth when she was just 16. Mr Smart raised the newborn and five other children with love and care.
Inspired by Ms Anna Jarvis's struggle to promote Mother's Day, Ms Dodd began a rigorous campaign to celebrate Father's Day in US. The Spokane Ministerial Association and the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) supported Sonora's cause. As a result Spokane celebrated its first Father's Day on June 19, 1910. Though there was initial hesitation, the idea gained gradual popularity all over US and Fathers Day came to be celebrated in cities across the country.
Looking at the heightened popularity of Father's Day in US, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge too supported the idea of a national Father's Day in 1924 to, "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations". After a protracted struggle of over four decades, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966. Then in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. Sonora Smart Dodd was honored for her contribution at the World's Fair in Spokane in 1974. Mrs. Dodd even designated a flower for Father's Day: the rose. Red roses are given for a living father and white ones are for remembrance if he has passed away. Mrs. Dodd died in 1978 at age 96.
Quotes:
"The greatest thing a FATHER can do for his children, is to love their mother." ~ Anjaneth Garcia Untalan
"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons." ~ Johann Schiller
"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874
Fun Facts:
~ Albert Einstein is the father of modern science.
~ George Washington is the father of our country.
~ Herodotus is the father of history.
~ The Grim Reaper is known as "father time".
~ The term "Great White Father" refers to the United States President.
~ A.A. Milne was the father that based the character Christopher Robin, (from Winnie the Pooh) on his son.
~ Out of 102 prime-time TV shows, only 15 have a father as a regularly appearing, main character.
~ 62 years passed between the first Father's Day celebration and its recognition as an official holiday.
A Bit of Humor:
"Small boy's definition of Father's Day: "It's just like Mother's Day, only you don't spend so much." ~ Unknown
"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." ~ Charles Wadsworth
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