The History of Father’s Day

In two days from now, America will celebrate Father’s Day. Now celebrated on the third Sunday in June, Father’s Day has only been a recognized holiday since 1972, 58 full years after Mother’s Day became a nationwide holiday. How did this summer holiday get its start? It has its roots in the 1900s.

In 1908, a West Virginian church sponsored the first event in honor of fathers in the United States, a Sunday sermon in memory of the over 300 men who had died in the 1907 Fairmont Coal Company explosions. The event was intended as a one-day affair, not as an annual holiday.

In 1909, a Washington woman tried to establish the male equivalent to Mother’s Day. Sonora Smart Dodd was one of six children who had been raised by a widower. She campaigned at local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials, and, sure enough, her campaign worked. The first Father’s Day in the nation was celebrated on July 19, 1910, the date the governor of the state of Washington first proclaimed the holiday.

The holiday spread slowly. Both President Wilson and President Coolidge tried to popularize the fledgling holiday, but men across the country were skeptical of “sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness.”

Then, in the 1920s and 30s, Parents’ Day activists tried to do away with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in lieu of a joint holiday. Supporters believed that both parents should be “loved and respected together.” However, with the Great Depression in full swing, retailers and advertisers made Father’s Day their new focus, turning Father’s Day into another Christmas for men, urging wives and children to purchase good such as neckties, golf clubs and greeting cards. When WWII began, advertisers argued that Father’s Day was a way to honor American troops and support the war effort. By the end of the war, Father’s Day was cemented in American minds as a national institution, though it still had not been proclaimed a federal holiday.

In 1972, President Nixon finally signed a proclamation to make Father’s Day a national holiday. Why did it take 62 years for the holiday to become recognized nationwide? Some believe it’s because fathers don’t have the same sentimental appeal that mothers have. Whatever the reasoning, the holiday is now firmly embedded in American culture. Evidence of such: It’s estimated that more than $1 billion is spent each year on Father’s Day gifts.

But instead of buying Dad a new necktie this year, try showing your love for Dad in a more creative way—with a trip to JB’s on 41!

*Information courtesy of http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day