ALT-1 A brief History of Fathers Day
The first thing one must know about Father's Day is that it was not inaugurated until the early part of the twentieth century. Father's Day is a complement to Mother's Day. While Mother's Day honors mothers, Father's Day honors fathers. However, not everybody celebrates Father's Day on the same day across the world. The United States is no different when it comes to celebrating Father's Day.
However, the US shares the same day with most of the country's across the world. This holiday is celebrated on the third Sunday of every June. For 2008, Father's Day is on June 15. For 2009, Father's Day is on June 21. Asides from the US, Father's Day is celebrated on the same date in: Antigua, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the UK, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
With the US included, a total of forty-four countries observe and celebrate Father's Day on that specific date in June.
Father's Day in the United States does share the same origins as Mother's Day. The first modern Father's Day celebration was held in West Virginia on July 5, 1908. Mother's Day too had originated in West Virginia. Hillary Clinton's victory in West Virginia seemed to be symbolic before the end of the Democratic primary. Clinton is a mother, Mother's Day was around, and West Virginia was the originating state of the holiday.
The founder of Father's Day was a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd who was born in Creston, Washington. Originally, Dodd was working to honor her father who was a single father that had to take care of six children. Her father was William Jackson Smart, a veteran who had fought in the American Civil War. After his wife died after giving birth to the sixth child, Smart was by himself to raise all six children.
Smart could have run off and left the six children under someone else's care. But, it was not the case. Smart raised all six children on his own. He had shown selflessness in being a single parent. When Dodd became an adult, her father's selfless acts had dawned on her.
Dodd was driven by the inspiration of Anna Jarvis, who was instrumental to establishing and inaugurating Mother's Day. With that inspiration, Dodd wanted to do something similar. This holiday would be honoring fathers.
While the first modern Father's Day celebration was in West Virginia, the first true Father's Day celebration came from Spokane, Washington. This is where Dodd and her siblings were raised by their single father.
However, there are two Father's Day celebrations with one in June and one in July. The one in June was celebrated in Spokane, Washington. It became a national holiday in 1924 under the presidency of Calvin Coolidge. Father's Day would not be celebrated on the third Sunday of every June until the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. Still, the holiday was not officially recognized until the presidency of Richard Nixon.
The initial date for Father's Day was June 5. That was the anniversary of the death of Dodd's father.
However, it is said that there are two driving forces to the establishment of Father's Day. In the case of West Virginia, it was celebrated at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South. This is now named the Central United Methodist Church.
In Washington, it was celebrated at the Spokane YMCA. Two different origins and two different stories.
