NOTE: Today is Father's Day 2025.
When I opened my computer a few minutes ago to write a letter, I saw this little blurb detailing some background of this commemorative day. Though I knew how Mother's Day began, I don't think I ever heard anything about how the celebration of Father's Day came about.
Click on the links to find out some additional information about the details associated with this special day. I think you will find them interesting.
And in spite of the fact MY father-in-law was negative and vocal about Father's Day being just another way for merchants to take something out of thin air and commercialize it (to the point it kind of wrecked our kids' enthusiasm to fete him), I think celebrating our dads is a great way to let them know they are important in our lives! I loved making this day special for my own father and for my husband who was the father of our children.
FATHER’S
DAY
Each June, stores roll out their
Father’s Day best — sales on ties, watches, and barbecue grills. But when
Father’s Day was first created, a much smaller token was given out to
dads: roses. Flowers aren’t as heavily advertised for
Father’s Day now as they are for mothers in May, yet the link between dads
and the delicate blooms comes from the earliest American celebrations of the
holiday. The first known Father’s Day is tied to
the West Virginia mining community of Fairmont. On July 5, 1908, the town held a church service honoring the lives of
fathers in their community, many of whom had perished the December before in
what is widely considered the worst mining disaster in U.S. history. However, the church
event was held just one time, and another city propelled the holiday into
national view. In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd launched her
campaign to honor fathers from her home in Spokane, Washington. As the daughter of a Civil War veteran and widower who had
raised six children, Dodd believed fathers deserved recognition for their
roles. Within a year, she had drummed up community support, and on June 19,
1910, Washington became the first state to celebrate Father’s Day. Dodd’s first
festivities included an exchange of roses; children gave red roses to their
fathers and pinned color-coded buds to their shirts — red for living
fathers and white roses in honor of the deceased. The activist even rode
through the city, handing out flowers and gifts to fathers who couldn’t
leave home. Over time, the tradition of giving roses to dads faded away, but
the holiday stuck around. After years of rallying, Father’s Day became
a federally recognized holiday in 1972. |