So when and why did we start celebrating Dads
with a special day?
Turn up your speakers, scroll down and learn about this celebration.
Be sure to print out this page and share it with your friends,
family and of course your Dad!
THE HISTORY OF FATHER'S DAY
EARLY CELEBRATIONS
Some historians believe that the earliest celebrations of Father's Day began with the
Romans, although they only honored those deceased.
Sonora
louise Smart Dodd
It
is said that our modern celebration of Father's Day was most likely begun by Mrs. John B.
Dodd (Sonora Louise Smart), of Spokane, Washington, who first suggested the
idea of the holiday in 1909.
Mrs. Dodd's father, William Smart, a civil war veteran, was widowed when his wife died in
childbirth with their sixth child. Although he suffered through many hardships of
raising children as a sole parent, Mr. Smart proceeded to raise his newborn baby along
with his five other children.
Photo Courtesy
YMCA of USA Archives
When Sonora Dodd became an adult, she realized the
strength and selflessness her father had shown in
raising them all as a single parent. Her proposed local Father's Day celebration received
strong support from the townspeople, ministry and the members of the Spokane YMCA. The
original date chosen for the holiday was Mr. Smart's birthday, June 5, but because there
was not enough time to prepare, the celebration was postponed until June 19, the
third Sunday in June.
Newspapers across the country, already endorsing the need for a
national Mother's Day, carried stories about the unique Spokane observance. Interest
in Father's Day increased. Among the first notables to support Mrs. Dodd's idea
nationally was the orator and political leader William Jennings Bryan, who also had backed
Mother's Day.
Believing that fathers must not be slighted, he wrote to Mrs. Dodd, "too much
emphasis cannot be placed upon the relation between parent and child."
Father's Day although, was not as quickly accepted as Mother's Day. Members of the all male Congress felt that a motion to proclaim the day official might be interpreted as a self serving pat on the back.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson and his family personally observed the day and in 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day, but it didn't become an official holiday until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed the presidential proclamation that set aside the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. Later in 1972 President Nixon established a permanent national observation of the day.
Sonora Louise Smart Dodd died at the age of 96 but her legacy lives
on. A monument to Sonora’s
holiday stands at the Spokane YMCA . Today thousands of fathers and their children enjoy a wide range of family
programs at 2,393 YMCA's nationwide.
This
monument to Sonora Smart Dodd and Father's Day
stands at the Spokane YMCA
where the first Father’s Day celebration took place.
Mrs. Charles Clayton
Around the same time in towns and cities across the United States, other people were also
starting to celebrate a Father's Day. Although most histories give credit to Mrs.
Dodd some accounts credit Mrs. Charles Clayton of West Virginia, as the founder of
Father's Day.
Senator Margaret Chase
Smith
Many people attempted to get official recognition of Father's Day. In 1957, Senator
Margaret Chase Smith wrote Congress that "Either we honor both our parents, mother
and father, or let us desist from honoring either one. But to single out just one of
our two parents and omit the other is the most grievous insult imaginable."
Harry C. Meek
Harry C. Meek is also given credit for founding the idea of Father's Day. A President of a
Chicago Lions Club, Meeks gave speeches to various groups about the need to honor fathers
through out the United States. In appreciation for his work, the Lions Clubs of America
presented him with a gold watch, with the inscription "Originator of Father's
Day," on his birthday, June 20, 1920.
Today, Father's Day is celebrated in a number of countries
around the world,
on different official dates.
New Zealand celebrates Father's Day on the first Sunday of September.
Father's Day is celebrated in Spain on March 19th.
Photo Courtesy
YMCA of USA
Archives
In the beginning, wearing flowers was a traditional way of celebrating Father's Day.
Mrs. Dodd preferred a red rose to honor a father still living, while a white flower
honored a deceased dad.
J.H. Berringer, who also held Father's Day celebrations
in Washington State as early as 1912, chose a white lilac as the Father's Day
flower.
Now that you've read about the
history of Father's Day,
click on the photo above to visit our Trivia
Page
and see how you do on our Father's Day Quiz.
You can send free
Father's Day E-Cards
from our site (link on home page below) or,
visit our Special Occasions Section to purchase Paper Cards
for your Dad to cherish forever.
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