Every year, we celebrate Father’s day in honor of the fathers who work hard supporting the family. Everyone knows the important details about this day, including when it takes place. But there are still things we haven’t known about Father's day, such as when and how it started.
Listed below are 12 facts you may not know about Father's day.
The Mother of Father’s Day
Ever wonder how Father's day started? It all began with Sonora Smart Dodd, one of the six children of an American Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart. Dodd’s mother died when she was just 16 years old. Because of this incident, their father was left to take care of his six children alone.
In 1908, after attending a church sermon about Mother’s day, Dodd wondered why there wasn’t such a thing for fathers. Wanting to celebrate her father for raising them all by himself, she suggested having such a holiday to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Although she wanted to celebrate it on June 5, her father’s birthday, the first father’s day celebration happened on June 19, 1910
Father’s Day as an Official Holiday
Although the community liked Sonora’s suggestion of having a special day for fathers, it still took a lot of years before it was officially announced as a holiday.
The late President Lyndon B Johnson, in 1966, released the first presidential proclamation to honor fathers and allotted the third Sunday of June to celebrate them. Six years later, the late President Richard Nixon finally signed Father's day to be a permanent national holiday.
No Father’s Day in South Korea
South Koreans don’t celebrate Father’s Day. At least, not by itself. Instead, they celebrate Parents’ Day every 8th of May, which was originally just Mother's Day. It was combined with filial piety, one of the major elements of their traditional Confucianism culture, andeventually, was changed to Parents’ Day.
Father’s Day from the Middle Ages
Europe, having a majority of Catholic countries, initially had their own celebration of Father’s Day. It all stretches back to the Middle Ages where they honor Saint Joseph as the foster father of Jesus Christ. Countries such as Spain, France, and Italy commemorate this event on March 19. After a while, it also became a day dedicated to honoring all fathers, although some families still consider it Saint Joseph's Day.
How’s it in Germany
Compared to the usual Father’s Day celebrations, German people spend it with wagons of beer and lots of regional foods. They call it Männertag or Men’s Day because they spend it all together and enjoy themselves. Because of a high number of drunk men on this day, police and emergency service departments are on high alert in case of any incident.
Chinese Father’s Day
Before the Chinese people began celebrating Father's day on the third Sunday of June, they initially held it every 8th of August. The reason behind this has something to do with their language. Their colloquial term for father is ba-ba, which is equivalent to papa in English. As it happens, the number eight is also pronounced ba, which means celebrating on the 8th of August, or 8-8, would make it ba-ba as well.
Father and Child Ties
Ever since the founding of Father's Day, neck and bow ties have been the go-to gift of every child. It just started as a practical gift to give since most dads wear suits and ties to work. Although most workplaces today don’t require this kind of attire anymore,neckties still remain a popular gift.
Flowers for Dad
Mothers aren't the only ones who deserve roses on their special occasion, fathers should also be offered some flowers. When a father is given roses on Father's Day, the rose’s color symbolizes their meaning. The red rose is offered if the father is still living, while the white roses are for the deceased father. Most of the time, these flowers are given along with the gift you have for your father.
Cards Never Go Out of Style
Greeting cards are always included when giving presents on Father’s Day. According to the National Retail Federation, it is estimated that in 2021, Americans spent $20.1 billion on Father’s Day gifts, and 59% of those purchases were Father's Day greeting cards, amounting to $11.8 billion. In terms of card purchases, father's day ranks fourth behind Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day.
Skin Care for Dads
As COVID-19 led to many changes in the lifestyles of every family, it has also contributed to new preferences for fathers’ gifts. Working mostly from home, fathers have had more time for taking care of themselves and even keeping up with skin care trends. In fact, 25% of fathers picked self-care products as their preferred gifts in a survey that was conducted.
Call Him Now and Call Him Dad
On Mother's Day, mothers receive a bouquet of flowers and fathers receive phone calls. It is proven that Father’s Day has the most number of collect calls in a year. According to Snopes, it exceeds the number of collect calls on Mother’s Day. It is estimated that revenue from Father's Day collect calls are over $1 billion every year.. In comparison with an average long distance call of eight minutes, Father's Day calls average eleven minutes.
Father’s Day in Thailand
The third Sunday in June is the day when most countries celebrate Father's Day, but Thailand does things differently. Although it isn’t clear when this started, Thai people celebrate Father’s Day on the 5th of December,the birthday of their late King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was fondly regarded as the Father of the Nation. They also have a different manner of celebrating by giving blood as it is an act of good deed in their tradition.
