Buzz
In the United States, Father's Day is celebrated annually on the third Sunday of June, often with gifts like a flashy tie, cufflinks, or for the fortunate dad, something practical like the newest iPhone or a bottle of premium Kentucky bourbon. While this holiday is sometimes viewed as just another consumer-driven celebration, it has evolved through various historical and cultural phases to become the global event it is today. To fully understand the origins of Father's Day, we need to travel back in time, much farther than most people would imagine.
10. BC Festivities
Archaeologists uncovered a clay tablet from the ancient ruins of Babylon, inscribed by a boy named Elmesu, which honors his father and wishes him good health and longevity. This artifact not only suggests the existence of a festival celebrating fathers, but it also remarkably resembles modern greeting cards. Considering the tablet is approximately 4,000 years old, it’s fascinating to think that the Babylonians, known for their contributions to architecture, trigonometry, and astronomy, may have been pioneers of the Father's Day celebration.
Across Europe, ancient pagan rituals were held to honor the sun, which was revered as a paternal figure. Modern-day pagans often associate our current Father's Day with these ceremonies, pointing to the close timing of both the holiday in the United States and the summer solstice, which falls around the third week of June, as evidence. However, as we’ll see later, the actual date of Father’s Day had a different origin altogether.
9. Fathers, Forefathers, and Patriarchs
As Christianity spread across Europe and North Africa during the early centuries AD, it integrated various local customs and pagan traditions into its church holidays, including the honoring of fathers. The Coptic Orthodox Church, based in Egypt, had been celebrating fatherhood on St. Joseph's Day each July as early as the 5th century. The Roman Catholic Church officially began observing the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19 in 1508, though unofficial celebrations began about a century earlier. This observance honors Joseph, the carpenter who married the Virgin Mary, and recognizes his role as the stepfather of Jesus, setting an example for fathers today.
Likewise, Eastern Orthodox churches traditionally celebrate the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers, which falls on the second Sunday before Christmas. This observance pays tribute to biblical figures and patriarchs, tracing the paternal line from Adam through Noah, Abraham, and Moses, and ending with St. Joseph and the Nativity.
These religious holidays are still observed today, although participation levels vary across different countries.
8. Birth of an American Tradition
St. Joseph’s Day, a religious observance, was never widely recognized in the United States. However, the US would eventually create its own secular holiday to honor dads, thanks to the efforts of a group of women over a century ago. Strangely enough, the idea began with Mother's Day.
In the 1860s, post-Civil War activist Ann Reeves Jarvis initiated 'Mother’s Work Days', a celebration aimed at reconciling mothers from both Union and Confederate sides in a divided West Virginia town. Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took up the cause to establish a national holiday in her mother's honor. In 1908, a department store in Philadelphia hosted the first commercial Mother’s Day event, which spread rapidly among retailers. The celebration gained such popularity that by 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday on the second Sunday of May, paving the way for discussions about an official day to honor fathers.
Father’s Day also has roots in West Virginia. Grace Golden Clayton, the daughter of a minister, organized a church service to honor fathers in Fairmont on July 5, 1908, just months after a tragic mine explosion claimed the lives of 362 men. Although the event was intended to be a one-time observance, it marked the beginning of a tradition that others would later adopt.
The idea of Father’s Day took hold a year later in Spokane, Washington, when Sonora Smart Dodd launched a campaign to create a holiday similar to Mother’s Day. Dodd proposed June 5, her father’s birthday, as the date for the celebration, and she presented her idea to local businesses, churches, and government officials. In 1910, Washington became the first state to officially recognize Father’s Day, shifting the date to the third Sunday in June to distinguish it from Mother’s Day, which took place in May.
It’s a remarkable achievement that Father’s Day came into being, especially considering the perseverance of these women, who had not yet been granted the right to vote. Despite widespread indifference and slow public acceptance of the holiday, it endured—and for the most part, men were reluctant to embrace it.
7. A Congressional Spellcheck
Father's Day is frequently misspelled, particularly when it comes to the apostrophe. Some people omit it entirely, making 'father' plural, while others mistakenly place it after the 's', resulting in a plural possessive. While many people might not mind the error, lawmakers who unsuccessfully introduced a bill in 1913 to establish the national observance of the holiday decided that the apostrophe should precede the 's'. This decision not only aligned with the spelling of Mother's Day, but by making 'father' singular, it captured the intent of Sonora Smart Dodd, the woman behind the movement who campaigned to celebrate fathers individually and recognize their impact on families. Ironically, Dodd herself had been placing the apostrophe incorrectly after the 's'.
…oops…
6. Real Men Don’t Need Holidays
As mentioned earlier, Mother's Day was officially recognized as a national holiday in 1914. From the start, the public embraced it, and it quickly became commercialized with lavish, feminine gift ideas like flowers, fancy hats, and jewelry. The idea of a similar holiday to honor fathers began to gain traction, but many men across the nation were either indifferent or outright opposed to the very idea! And it wasn’t simply that the holiday was being promoted in a way similar to the commercial, feminized nature of Mother's Day—no, it went far beyond that! To fully understand their opposition, you must examine the structure of the American family during the early half of the twentieth century.
In those days, men were the undisputed heads of the household! They were often the sole breadwinners, and the last thing they wanted was for family members to buy them unnecessary gifts for a holiday they deemed frivolous, time-wasting, and costly. They mocked the idea that they deserved a day of indulgence, convinced that it was the women who deserved such pampering! Men also questioned the real motive behind the holiday, seeing it as just another commercial ploy. To make matters worse, the day was already designated as a Sunday holiday, so there was no added bonus of a day off from work.
Then came the Great Depression, which hit America hard, and as consumer spending plummeted, retail stores scrambled to find any way they could to boost sales—including promoting Father’s Day. A decade later, with men off fighting in World War II, the holiday evolved into a meaningful day of honor and remembrance for the families who waited for their return. When the men came back, the country had changed. New opportunities for women had opened up, and while they were no longer confined to the home, men found themselves with more free time, which they spent bonding with their families. This shift deepened paternal roles and helped to justify the celebration of Father’s Day. Gradually, the idea of Father’s Day became an ingrained part of American life for men.
5. Oval Office Buck-Passing
The man who inspired Father’s Day, William Jackson Smart, the father of Sonora Smart Dodd, passed away in 1919. It would be over fifty years before his daughter’s tribute to him, and to fathers everywhere, became a national holiday. Despite ongoing advocacy, lawmakers in Washington remained hesitant throughout those years.
One of the main reasons the 1913 bill failed in Congress was the fear that the holiday would be commercialized. Despite this, both Woodrow Wilson in 1916 and Calvin Coolidge in 1924 recommended a national observance of the day, but neither president actually issued a proclamation. In 1957, Senator Margaret Chase Smith from Maine petitioned Congress to pass the bill, accusing them of '40 years of the worst possible oversight,' but to no avail. In 1961, Representative Walt Horan from Washington State made a similar plea, though without the accusatory tone, yet still, Congress didn’t pass the bill.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy was named 'Father of the Year' by the National Father’s Day Committee, but if they were hoping for a return endorsement, it never came. Six months later, Kennedy was tragically assassinated. His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, took over and, in 1966, issued a proclamation officially recognizing Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. Finally, it was official—right? Well, not exactly. The only thing Johnson solidified was the date, which had been established 56 years earlier in Washington state, not the holiday itself. But in 1972, someone finally got it right.
In a move many see as a political strategy for re-election, President Richard Nixon declared Father’s Day a national holiday in 1972. Unfortunately, just two months later, the infamous Watergate break-in occurred (ironically, on Father’s Day weekend), and the fallout from this scandal would overshadow much of Nixon’s achievements in history.
4. A Second Christmas For Men
Throughout the early twentieth century, multiple bills proposing a national holiday for fathers were rejected, mainly due to concerns about the holiday becoming too commercialized. While this issue has been discussed before, it’s worth repeating…
As far back as 1938, the retail industry dubbed Father’s Day 'a second Christmas,' and the merchants who vigorously advertised the holiday likely did more to popularize it than any act of Congress ever could. Although the holiday's acceptance was slow at first, by 2010, consumer spending for Father’s Day nearly hit 10 billion dollars!
While the pandemic shut down many events in 2020, Father’s Day was not canceled. In fact, it saw record sales of 17 billion dollars. Despite COVID-19, people still shopped for their dads, mainly online. Purchases of personal care products like hair clippers surged as professional grooming services were unavailable. Not surprisingly, masks replaced neckties as the go-to gift for fashion-conscious dads, with many companies offering custom-made face coverings featuring personalized patterns, images, and initials.
Father’s Day in 2021 is forecasted to generate over 20 billion dollars in sales. Perhaps, in hindsight, Congress back in 1913 was right to be concerned about the commercialization of the holiday.
3. Padres, Pères, And Väter
Father’s Day is celebrated around the world, in over a hundred countries, each with its own customs. However, the core sentiment remains the same. The ancient festival of St. Joseph’s Day continues to be celebrated in countries like Bolivia, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, and while it is an official church holiday, it is also a day for fathers to receive cards and gifts. Interestingly, Brazil celebrates Father’s Day on the second Sunday of August, coinciding with the feast day of St. Joachim, the Apocryphal father of Mother Mary.
Canada and the UK observe Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June, just like the US. The holiday is still emerging in India with limited participation, and in Mexico, it often becomes quite a lively affair, including a 21K marathon in Mexico City. Other countries that celebrate Father’s Day in June but on different dates include Austria, Belgium, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Syria, and Uganda, among others.
In Russia, February 23 is celebrated as Defender of the Fatherland Day, also known as Men’s Day, a holiday steeped in the country’s military history. In Germany, Vatertag, or Father’s Day, is observed on Ascension Day, which falls 40 days after Easter, always on a Thursday. The Dominican Republic honors fathers on the last Sunday of July, while Samoa marks the occasion on the first Monday after the second Sunday of August. Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji celebrate on the first Sunday in September, and many Scandinavian nations observe “Fars dag” on the second Sunday of November, having moved it from June due to economic conditions at year-end. Thailand celebrates Father’s Day on December 5, the birthday of the highly revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ruled for seventy years before passing away in 2016. A truly fitting tribute!
On the topic of honoring fathers, let us remember Sonora Smart Dodd. In the early 1900s, despite not having the legal right to vote, she campaigned for a holiday to honor fathers, paving the way for a tradition that would spread globally, celebrating fathers everywhere.
2. #VirtualDaddies
Father’s Day, like most gifting holidays, has been overtaken by social media and its overwhelming barrage of advertisements. Companies hire agencies to craft the perfect sugar-coated campaigns aimed at making a quick profit, turning each holiday into an ongoing advertising spectacle. Father’s Day, in particular, has become the 'second Christmas for men' in the digital age.
Social media users aren’t helping matters either. Some take the opportunity to criticize absentee fathers, while others grow weary of perfect, curated Father’s Day photos flooding Instagram. Ironically, the very platform intended to bring us together often isolates us. After the big Father’s Day barbecue, many family members retreat to their separate rooms, immersed in their phones, laptops, or smart TVs, leaving us to spend more time online sharing Father’s Day wishes or venting about the holiday than actually spending quality time with the dad of the day.
It was surprisingly simple, even for those dads or grandfathers who might not be as comfortable with technology as the younger generation. After all, everyone had a practice run just a month ago for Mother’s Day!
1. Baby Daddy’s Day
Let’s take a moment to examine how the structure of the American family has evolved in the twenty-first century…
According to the 2020 Census, one in four children in the U.S. don’t live in a home with a father or a stepfather. In some cases, dads have disappeared because they couldn’t handle family life or perhaps their relationship with the mom (or vice versa). Sometimes they’re absent due to incarceration, or maybe they passed away. It could also be that they divorced and remarried, or simply were never part of the picture. In other cases, there are two mothers, which might make the celebration of Father’s Day feel out of place. Whatever the reason, the percentage of children without fathers in the home has increased fourfold since 1950, and matriarchal families have become more common, especially in underprivileged neighborhoods, for years.
What if a child has two dads? He could have two gay male parents or maintain strong relationships with both a stepfather and a biological father. Could such a dynamic create rivalry and resentment? What if an uncle, a grandfather, or an older brother fills the fatherly role? There is no single definition of a family in America anymore, and that idea isn’t likely to return anytime soon.
What makes this particularly fascinating is that if you were to ask a hundred different therapists how to handle Father’s Day in a household without a father, you’d likely receive a hundred distinct responses! Some recommend turning it into a second Mother’s Day, while others advocate for celebrating the holiday regardless. Then there are those who believe it shouldn’t be acknowledged at all. Certain experts stress the importance of male role models, while others argue that any form of parental love, regardless of gender, is sufficient. It seems that professional guidance on this subject is as diverse as the families who seek it, highlighting that there is no universal solution for ‘baby’s daddy syndrome’ on the third Sunday of June.
In 2020, it was estimated that 75 percent of Americans celebrated Father’s Day, and each of those celebrations was undoubtedly as unique and memorable as the year itself.
