Father's Day is a day honouring fathers, celebrated on various days in many places around the world. It complements Mother's Day, the celebration honouring mothers.

[edit] History

Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, and special dinners to fathers and family-oriented activities. In 2008, it was celebrated on June 15 in many countries. It originated in Spokane, Washington.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, it will be celebrated on June 21 in many countries.

Although Mrs. John B. Dodd of Washington was the first to solicit the idea of having a Father's Day observance (while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in church), the very first Father's Day observance didn't transpire for many years. That first observance was held in a church in Fairmont, West Virginia. "Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia is believed to have conducted the first Father's Day service on July 5, 1908 at the Central Church of Fairmont". ^[1]

In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries, most often on November 19.

[edit] Spelling

Although normal English punctuation guidelines indicate that the holiday should be spelled "Fathers' Day" (as it is a plural possessive), common usage dictates that the ostensibly singular possessive "Father's Day" is the preferred spelling.

[edit] Dates

The officially recognized date of Father's Day varies from country to country. This section lists some significant examples, in order of date of observance.

*Officially, as the name suggests, the holiday celebrate people who are serving or were serving the Russian Armed Forces (both men and women). But the congratulations are traditionally, nationally accepted by all fathers, other adult men and male children as well.
**In China (under the title of Republic of China, still under Nationalist rule at the time), Father's Day on August 8 was first held in Shanghai in 1945.

[edit] International history and traditions

[edit] Argentina

Father's Day on Argentina is celebrated on the third Sunday of June, but there have been several attempts to change it to August 24 to honor the day when the "Father of the Nation" José de San Martín became a father. ^[4]

On 1953 it was proposed to the General Direction of Schools of Mendoza Province the celebration on all educational stablishments of a Father's Day on August 24 in honor of José de San Martín, and it was celebrated for the first time on 1958, but it was not included on the scholar calendar due to the pression of several groups, and it started being celebrated on the third Sunday of June. ^[14]

The schools on the Mendoza Province kept celebrating Father's Day on August 24, and, on 1982, the Provincial Governor passed a law declaring Father's Day on the province to be celebrated on August 24. ^[14]

On 2004, several proposals to change the date to August 24 were presented to the argentinian Camara de Diputados on a single unified project. ^[14] It was approved, and it was passed to the Senate of Argentina for final review and approval. The Senate changed the proposed new date to the third Sunday of August, and scheduled the project for approval. However, the project was never treated on the Senate on the planned session, which caused its failure. ^[15]

[edit] Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the Unidad Social Cristiana party presented a bill to change the celebration of the day from the third Sunday of June to 19th March, the day of Saint Joseph.^[16] That was in order to give tribute to this saint, who gave name to the capital of the country San José, Costa Rica, and so family heads wuill be able to celebrate the Father's Day at the same time as the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker.^[5] The official date is still third Sunday of June.

[edit] Germany

Hiking/drinking tour on Herrentag

In Germany there is no such thing as Father's Day ^[17][18] as celebrated in other parts of the world. There are two terms and/or events of an older origin that while similar in name, have entirely different meanings. Vatertag, is always celebrated on Ascension Day (the Thursday forty days after Easter), which is a federal holiday. Regionally, it is also called men's day, Männertag, or gentlemen's day, Herrentag. It is tradition to do a males-only hiking tour with one or more smaller wagons, Bollerwagen, pulled by manpower. In the wagons are wine or beer (according to region) and traditional regional food, Hausmannskost, which could be Saumagen, Liverwurst, Blutwurst (Blood Sausage), vegetables, eggs, etc.

Some parts of Germany (such as Bavaria and the northern part of Germany) call this particular day "Vatertag", which is the literal equivalent to Father's Day.

[edit] Roman Catholic tradition

In the Roman Catholic tradition, Fathers are celebrated on Saint Joseph's Day, commonly called Feast of Saint Joseph, March 19, though in most countries Father's Day is a secular celebration. ^[19]

[edit] Taiwan

In Taiwan, Father's Day is not an official holiday, but is widely observed on August 8, the eighth day of the eighth month of the year. In Mandarin Chinese, the pronunciation of the number 8 is bā. This pronunciation is very similar to the character "爸" "bà", which means "Papa" or "father". The Taiwanese, therefore, usually call August 8 by its nickname, "Bābā Day" (爸爸節).

[edit] Thailand

In Thailand, Father's Day is set as the birthday of the king. December 5 is the birthday of current king, Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX).The celebration is using the flower of Father's day Canna (Dok put ta ruk sa) to give to our father or grandfather or your parents that he should be man.For Thai king, Thai people will wearing a yellow cloth for Bhumibol Adulyadej because yellow is the king was born Monday.

[edit] United States

In the United States, the first modern Father's Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia^[20][21] or on June 19th of the same year, in the state of Washington^[22]. Today, Father's Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June.

In West Virginia, it was first celebrated as a church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church. Grace Golden Clayton, who is believed to have suggested the service to the pastor, is believed to have been inspired to celebrate fathers after the deadly mine explosion in nearby Monongah the prior December. This explosion killed 361 men, many of them fathers and recent immigrants to the United States from Italy. Another possible inspiration for the service was Mothers' Day, which had been celebrated for the first time two months prior in Grafton, West Virginia, a town about 15 miles (24 km) away.

Another driving force behind the establishment of the integration of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent reared his six children in Spokane, Washington. She was inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first June Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA, at the Spokane YMCA.

Unofficial support from such figures as William Jennings Bryan was immediate and widespread. President Woodrow Wilson was personally feted by his family in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

In recent years, retailers have adapted to the holiday by promoting greeting cards and male-oriented gifts such as electronics and tools. Schools and other children's programs commonly have activities to make Father's Day gifts.

According to IBISWorld, a publisher of business research, Americans are expected to spend at least $11 billion on gifts for Father's Day in 2008. This is about $7 billion less than the amount spent on Moms for Mother's Day, which is more steeped in traditional gifts, some of which tend to be more expensive than Father's Day gifts. In economic terms, the average per capita spending on Father's Day is expected to be in the range of $27.60 in 2008. ^[23].

[edit] See also

Holidays portal

• Mother's Day
• Children's Day

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Father's Day at the Open Directory Project
• Proclamations by US Presidents on Father's Day, from George W. Bush and Bill Clinton

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