Father's Day

The third Sunday of June rolls around and, with it, comes Father's Day - or at least in a few countries (Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Hong Kong S.A.R., India, Ireland, Japan, Macao S.A.R., Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe). In some other countries, different dates are observed but one thing is largely the same - Just as Mother's Day celebrates motherhood, today is there to celebrate parenting by the males. Father's Day exists almost all over the world to honor and commemorate fathers or forefathers. Unusual that the US and UK celebrate Father's day on the same day but Mother's day differently (in the US, Mothering Sunday is in May rather than March).

In the United States, the driving force behind the establishment of the celebration of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd whose father, a Civil War veteran raised his six children by himself in Spokane, Washington (she was also inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day). Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and hence the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane in 1910. Although unofficial support was immediate and widespread, it wasn't until 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June although this wasn't officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Thus, best wishes to my Dad!!!