History of Father’s Day
Father’s Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.
June 19, 1910, marked the nation’s first Father’s Day celebration in Washington State. However, it was not until 1972, that the day honoring fathers became a nationwide holiday. This was 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official holiday.
A Spokane, Washington, woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful. Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.
Gift Ideas
If you have some cash on hand, you can buy your dad all sorts of things. But there’s a gift he might appreciate more, and it’s absolutely free. We’re talking about the gift of time here, the one thing in this world that is absolutely finite and cannot be bought or sold.
If you love your dad, give him some of your time this Father’s Day. If you happen to throw in a gift or two, well, that’s probably just icing on the cake.
- take dad out to enjoy his hobby
- go for a walk, run, or drive
- hold a surprise party or family dinner
- volunteer to help someone else
- have a movie night
- have a family picnic or grill outside
- make breakfast for your family
- give your dad the day off
