10 Things You Should Know About the History of Father’s Day

The state of Washington was the first state in the US to celebrate Father’s Day. The first official Father’s Day was celebrated in 1910 after a campaign by Sonora Smart Dodd. Dodd was inspired to create a holiday for fathers after attending a church Mother’s Day sermon. Her own father raised her and five siblings alone after his wife died in childbirth. Her father was also a Civil War veteran who had moved to Washington after the war.

Dodd campaigned with every local agency she could in order to create what would become the first statewide Father’s Day celebration. She worked with local and state governments, YMCAs, businesses, and churches in the state. While this was not the first Father’s Day celebration, it was the first one on a state level. Previous celebrations had been held by a small town in West Virginia to honor the lives of over 300 miners that died in a tragic mining accident the December prior.

This first celebration is said to have occurred in 1908. This was the same year as the first official Mother’s Day celebration.

Over time, as with all holidays, Father’s Day slowly evolved into the holiday celebrated today. There are several factors that have arisen through chance. Really, only the idea of Father’s Day can be attributed to these first celebrations.

Commercially speaking, Mother’s Day completely dominates Father’s Day. Father’s Day is typically celebrated with a meal at home, usually something cooked on the grill, and small gifts. Mother’s Day, however, is usually celebrated with a trip out to eat, making it an Easter the top two busiest days for restaurants.

This stark difference is entirely cultural. Both holidays are fairly new, only being slightly older than 100 years each. In fact, Mother’s Day only started two years before Father’s Day. Father’s Day, while only two years older and by some accounts started the same year, only became an officially recognized national holiday in 1972. Nixon made it officially into a holiday. Prior to this, it was celebrated in some states and towns locally.

When you look at the numbers, the difference in spending is not as large as you might expect. The projected Mother’s Day sales are $23.1 Billion, while Father’s Day projections are $15.3 Billion. This is certainly not a small amount, and the difference is quite large, but not what you would expect.

The difference is likely made up for in grilling supplies that are purchased once per year for Father’s Day. By comparison, Mother’s Day spending is typically in a restaurant and involves at least one nice gift.

Father’s Day originally began back in the Middle Ages. It was a religious holiday practiced in the Catholic countries of Europe. Traditionally the celebration was held on March 15 of each year. This was to coincide with the Feast of St. Joseph.

The holiday had the same meaning in the Middle Ages that it has today. It was, and remains, a holiday to celebrate fatherhood. The primary difference is that now it is celebrated as a national holiday, not a religious one. The date has also been changed to allow it to always fall on a weekend, rather than in the middle of the week.

Father’s Day in the Middle Ages likely came about for the same reason that several traditional holidays did, particularly Catholic holidays. During the Middle Ages, the church and ruling class knew that they walked a fine line with how much they could abuse the peasant class before they revolted. In order to quell potential uprising before they began, the church created several holidays that the ruling class agreed to in order to prevent peasant revolts.

Many of these holidays remain today, but they are no longer used as a day off from work in the US. The US has the fewest number of guaranteed paid leave days in the developed world. This is especially true when referring to paternity and maternity leave. The US has routinely stripped power from its workers and given it back to the corporations.

It is not uncommon for several countries to celebrate the same holiday but on different dates. For example, the US and Canada both celebrate Thanksgiving, but Canadians celebrate it a month early, in October. The same is true for Father’s Day. It has several iterations around the world, and they each fall on different days.

In the US, Father’s Day traditionally falls on the third Sunday of June. This ensures that it is always on a Sunday and that everyone can take the day off to relax, in theory anyway. This date was officially selected in 1972 when Congress and President Nixon passed it into law, officially recognizing Father’s Day as a national holiday.

In Europe. Many Catholic countries still celebrate Father’s Day on the traditional March 15. This date also falls on the Feast of St. Joseph, which is why the date was used historically. Unlike in the US, the European version of Father’s Day remains a religious holiday, not a state holiday. Many European countries offer employees floating holidays to allow them to take off the holidays that they want to have off, rather than being restricted to a set schedule. The holiday is also far less commercialized in Europe than in the US.

In Thailand, Father’s Day is celebrated on December 5 to coincide with a former King’s birthday. This example was likely made a holiday to glorify the King and remains in effect today.

Father’s Day remained an unofficial holiday in the US until 1972 when Congress and President Nixon officially made it into a holiday. This is in spite of the fact that the holiday had been widely practiced in the US for nearly 70 years at that point. It was originally celebrated in the US back in either 1908 or 1910, sources vary, but not recognized until the 1970s.

Woodrow Wilson actually tried to make Father’s Day an official holiday all the way back in 1916. He was not able to get the bill through Congress, however. The Congress at the time was concerned that an officially recognized Father’s Day would become too commercialized. While it has not happened to Father’s Day, it is certainly easy to see why they were concerned. Many holidays have become completely commercialized today.

Easter, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day are the three worst examples of this commercialization. All three holidays began as simple religious celebrations but have largely become secular celebrations that are routinely exploited by corporations for additional profit. Christmas is used to push new products while Easter and Valentine’s Day are used to sell expensive candies.

All holidays run the risk of becoming commercialized in a capitalist society. Despite the concerns of Congress under Wilson, it appears they changed their minds under Nixon in the 1970s. Nixon routinely participated in less than ethical practices in the White House, but he did do some good for the country.

One of the benefits of the early Women’s rights movements was the creation of Mother’s Day. It officially became a holiday in 1908 but was widely practiced earlier than this. These early celebrations were a result of the equal rights movements. While there was certainly a lot of progress left to be made, it was certainly a start.

As a result of the creation of Mother’s Day, many people began to feel that there should also be a day to celebrate Fathers in the US. Sonora Smart Dodd began the first petition to hold an official Father’s Day celebration. She did this in Washington state, which became the first state to celebrate the holiday.

Other small ceremonies were held around the country to celebrate Fathers as well. These were usually memorial in nature, rather than celebratory, however.

After Mother’s Day officially became a holiday, there were, even more, calls to make Father’s Day an official holiday. This was likely a result of resistance to the women’s rights movement. Congress, however, continued to refuse to recognize it as a holiday until 1972.

It may seem counter-intuitive, particularly with how well-received Mother’s Day was, but Father’s Day was initially dismissed as satirical. Mother’s Day was an immediate success and remains one of the biggest holiday celebrations in the US today. This is because everyone recognizes the vital role mothers play in the lives of their children and families. Father’s Day, however, was initially seen as something completely unneeded and sure to lead to more frivolous celebrations.

Some people even suggested that celebrating Father’s Day would eventually lead to holidays such as “National Clean Your Desk Day.” These attacks were by people who did not believe that Fathers should be entitled to extra adoration. This could be related to two aspects. First, it is possible that people simply believed that the Father was already honored enough and didn’t need more praise.

The second option and the one that seems more likely is that people at the time believed that being a Father should be a thankless job. Fathers were meant to do their job and provide for their families without ever expecting anything in return. While this view is not necessarily wrong, there is never anything wrong with showing your appreciation for someone. One can see their point, however, that a Father should always be expected to do his job, no matter the circumstances. Thankfully, cases of divorce and single parents are both on the decline. This means that more families are staying together now than ever before. Over time these negative feelings towards the holiday faded. Eventually, Father’s Day became recognized nationally as an unofficial holiday.

Hallmark makes almost all of the greeting cards sold in the US. While there are other, smaller companies, there is no denying the essential monopoly possessed by Hallmark. While the economics and ethics of monopolistic practices can be debated (monopolies are bad), it does make getting product use information much easier. This is because all your information can come from a single source.

According to Hallmark, Father’s Day is the fourth-largest card buying holiday in the US. Mother’s Day, Christmas, and Valentine’s day all beat out Father’s Day for the higher spots on the list. These should not be a surprise to anyone. Mother’s Day is one of the largest holidays in the US, Valentine’s Day is the biggest card-giving holiday, and Christmas is the other largest holiday in the US.

In addition to being the fourth-largest card buying holiday, 50% of Father’s Day cards bought are for Fathers from their children. An additional 20% are bought by spouses to celebrate the holiday.

The oldest greeting card celebrating Fathers dates to ancient Babylon. It was on a simple clay tablet and wished his father ‘good health and long life.’ This ‘card’ is almost 4,000 years old. It is likely that even older examples still exist but have not been found yet.

With ruins constantly being explored, it is entirely possible that artifacts several thousands of years older could appear at any point in a dig. Archeologists have certainly found odder artifacts buried over the decades.

It may seem like this is a thing of the past, but many people still dislike the idea of having Father’s Day. There are several arguments against the holiday. Some of these arguments make sense, while others have not aged well with recent changes in gender roles.

One of the biggest arguments against Father’s Day is that the Father is essentially paying to buy himself a gift. This argument is largely left-over from the post-war era when the man of the house was expected to make all the money and provide entirely for his family while his wife took care of the house and children.

In the modern world, not only is this view sexist, but it is also often inaccurate. More and more women are in the workforce. First, more women are choosing to work and help provide for their families. Second, the current state of the US economy makes it difficult, if not impossible, for most households to survive on a single income.

Another common argument against the holiday is that the inherent ‘manliness’ of being a father should not be celebrated with flowers and other ‘frilly’ festivities. Obviously, this argument does not hold up well to current social norms either, but it is a common argument against the holiday regardless.

The biggest complaint against the holiday, however, remains the potential for it to become commercialized. While it has not become as commercialized as other holidays, it is impossible to deny the validity of this argument.

Divorce is hard on a family. This is especially true of children. For children, finding out their parents are getting a divorce is often one of the most traumatizing pieces of news they ever get as a child. Thankfully, statistics show that divorce rates have been declining since divorce became easily accessible in the 1960s and 1970s.

It is easy to look at the sudden boom in divorce rates in recent decades and think people do not respect marriage, but it is important to look at the cause and effect relationship, rather than the numbers alone. Yes, divorce rates skyrocketed for decades, but suicide rates dropped accordingly. These were not happy marriages ending, they were bad marriages that women felt trapped in that were finally ending, and women were freeing themselves from toxic relationships.

Over the last several decades’ divorce rates have also dropped. This is because people are more careful before they get married, but also because the numbers are steadying out from the influx of built-up divorces.

The people often hit hardest by divorce; however, are the children. As many as 40% of children of divorce have not seen their father in over a year. Some of these cases are for the best. In many cases, the Father can be abusive or addicted to alcohol or drugs, but other cases are simply one parent refusing to get along with the other. This can be contested in court, but the process can be time-consuming, expensive, and potentially damaging to the children.

Conclusion

Father’s Day may seem like a fairly recent holiday with no history behind it. While it is true that it was only recently recognized as an official holiday in the US, it has a long history around the world. Even today, Father’s Day is celebrated in some form in almost every country around the world.

The origins of Father’s Day, as it is known today, can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages. Catholic countries during the time celebrated Father’s Day on March 15, the same day as the Feast of St. Joseph. This was meant to coincide and allow two celebrations at once.

The holiday is still practiced on March 15 in many parts of Europe, particularly in Catholic countries. Other countries around the world have different dates that they celebrate Father’s Day on. While the days and traditions may vary, the goal of each of these festivals is always the same.

Here in the US, the holiday can be traced back to either 1908 or 1910, depending on which source you use. In one case, the first celebration was actually a memorial to deceased miners who had died in a mining accident the December prior to the celebration. This occurrence was a simple sermon at a small-town church. The later celebration was in Washington in 1910 and was specifically created to recognize the role Fathers play in the lives of their children in the same way as Mother’s Day.