FATHER'S DAY

 

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.