Actually, it was more like a one-time first event for fathers in a West Virginia church on July 5, 1908, that sparked a campaign the next year to establish a commemorative similar to Mother’s Day. It wasn’t originally intended to start a holiday, it was a sermon to honor fathers, the 362 men who had lost their lives in the December 1907 explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in the town of Mononaugh.
In 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower in Spokane, Washington, began to campaign in local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials for an equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She was so convincing that the state of Washington created the first state-wide celebration of Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.
The idea began its further spread. In 1916 President Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane as he pressed a button in Washington, D.C. It was in 1924 that President Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day. The third Sunday in June is now the traditional holiday, as proclaimed in 1966 by President Johnson—this year, 2023, June 18 is Father’s Day.
What is truly interesting is how there arose a certain disdain that evolved about the observance, and Mother’s Day as well. There were strong feelings about having these “holidays” was just a “commercial gimmick designed just to sell more products, usually paid for by the father himself. By the 1920’s and ‘30s there was a movement to create a single holiday—Parents’ Day –as a reminder that both parents should be “loved and respected together” said Parents’ Day activist and radio performer Robert Spere.
Then suddenly, with The Great Depression, ironically the idea was buried by the struggling businesses that sought to make Father’s Day like “a second Christmas” for men. They began to motivate the sale of all sorts of men’s apparel, sporting goods and even greeting cards. This continued and was reinforced by the advent of World War II when advertisers used the observance to support the troops. Father’s Day grew in popularity but it was not until 1972 that President Nixon signed an official proclamation making Father’s Day a federal holiday. Call it commercialism or paying tribute and honoring with love Dear Old Dad, an estimated more than $1 billion is spent annually on the holiday, according to economists.
Father’s Day is widely celebrated in other countries. Some observances are similar to those in the United States, but others have a more traditional origin. For example, in many countries where Catholicism is a major religion, since the Middle Ages the honoring of fatherhood was always March 19—the Feast of St. Joseph. Wherever it is celebrated, Father’s Day is supposed to be the day set aside to give a gift, spend time –which is the greatest gift—and reflect on the value of the father’s role in family life. Many will celebrate meals in restaurants or kick-off summer with a cook out for the family. (Grills seem to be one of the most popular gifts for Dads who enjoy being the outdoor chef.)
Residences Senior Living celebrates the occasion every year with a sumptuous meal to be enjoyed with family and friends. It’s important to come together and celebrate the wonderful contributions these men have made as husbands, fathers, grandfathers and uncles, military servicemen, first responders, steel workers, craftsmen, business owners and leaders—the list goes on and on. Fathers are heroes!