Father’s Day is a festival celebrated in many countries around the world. In order to pay tribute to the figure of the father. Origin And Date Of Celebration Of Father’s Day.
It is about recognizing the fundamental role of the father. Not only in the education of children, but in all stages of life.
Origin And Tradition Of Father’s Day
It is difficult to assign an exact date that indicates the origin of this endearing feast.
Although there is knowledge of some celebration in honor of the paternity carried out by the Copts in the fourth century.
What is clear is that the implantation of this tradition has to do with Catholic Christianity and with the celebrations they carried out, already in the 12th century, in honor of Saint Joseph, putative father of Jesus Christ.
But it was in 1847, under the pontificate of Pius XI, when the Catholic Church officially proclaimed that the day of St. Joseph, March 19, would also be father’s day.
Although the origin of Father’s Day is directly related to the Catholic religion, the fact is that Protestant countries later incorporated this tradition.
Today this feast is very widespread and does not necessarily have a religious connection.
Father’s Day In The United States
In the case of Father’s Day in the USA, the origin of the celebration is due to a woman, Sonora Smart Dodd.
It was she who got Father’s Day celebrated for the first time in Spokane. The Washington state city where she lived, on June 19, 1910.
Sonora was the eldest of six siblings, sons of William Jackson Smart and Ellen Victoria Cheek Smart. Her mother died at the time of the birth of her last child, when Sonora was sixteen years old.
This meant that the young woman had to assume, together with her father, all the tasks of educating the youngest. A task that both of them did with great dedication.
This shared work between father and daughter made a very strong affective bond grow between them.
The idea of celebrating Father’s Day came to Sonora’s mind by chance. It was in a Sunday Mass sermon of the Methodist church of which she was a member that the idea came to her.
Sonora, already married and mother of one son, was listening attentively to the motives that had led the Methodist church to celebrate Mother’s Day.
In those reflections, she saw reflected her own life and all the work and love that her father had dedicated to them.
June 19th, 1910
So, without further thought, she officially addressed the ecclesiastical representatives of the city of Spokane and formally requested that one day a year be chosen to pay tribute to fathers.
Sonora proposed June 5, her father’s birthday, as the date for the celebration of Father’s Day.
The idea was accepted. Although with a different date to the one propose. So, it was that same year 1910, on June 19, when Father’s Day was celebrated for the first time in the USA.
From the beginning, this celebration was enthusiastically welcomed in Spokane. The best thing was that, little by little, it spread throughout the rest of the United States.
The real fact was that in 1920 the celebration of Spokane declined. But, it had sown enough enthusiasm so that the spirit of the tribute to fathers would have taken hold in the USA.
Thus, some of the U.S. presidents and political leaders began to show their interest in celebrating Father’s Day.
The first step toward making that day official was taken by President Lyndon B. Jhonson, who declared the third Sunday in June to be Father’s Day in 1966.
But it was President Nixon who, in 1972, declared that the third Sunday of June would be officially and permanently Father’s Day in the United States of America.
Ideas For Celebrating Father’s Day In The United States
Father’s Day is a beloved celebration in America. The children, in the schools, work hard to make gifts to treat their father.
These are all kinds of handicrafts, among which the congratulations painted by them stand out.
Each child decorates their congratulations and writes an emotional phrase to show their father how much they love him.
But, in addition to the classic greeting, they also make all kinds of gifts such as coasters, photo frames, decorated ceramic pieces and numerous objects that are often proposed by enthusiastic teachers.
But Father’s Day is not restricted to the gifts of the youngest. The older children make an effort that day to reunite with their father, sometimes travelling from distant geographical points.
It is also a day when telephone companies register a very important number of calls.
They are undoubtedly congratulatory calls that the daughters and sons want to make to their fathers.
Mothers also feel part of this celebration and contribute, along with their children, in the acquisition of typical male gifts, including shirts, ties and perfumes.
Family Plans For Father’s Day In The United States
First of all, Father’s Day is a family celebration.
In fact, the father of the family is really happy when he can organize a party surrounded by all his family.
The most traditional celebration is the one that takes place around a table. Sharing a delicious meal and with a large table in which gifts are given to the family’s parent.
