Fathers play a crucial role in their children’s life — from steering them towards the right path to bestowing endless love and care. As such, to honour and celebrate fathers across the globe, the third Sunday in the month of June is celebrated as Father’s Day every year.

This year, it falls on June 19.

European countries celebrate Father’s Day on St Joseph’s Day to recognise the special role of the male parent. The story behind the celebrations dates back to Sebastian County, Arkansas, 1982, where Sonora Smart Dodd’s mother passed away when she was 16. Dodd’s father, William Smart, a civil war veteran, raised her and her five brothers. In order to honour and immortalise her father’s selfless efforts, Dodd deemed fit to celebrate the same on her father’s birthday — June 5. However, the day was later pushed to be the third Sunday of June. On this day, children make their fathers feel special and loved by exchanging cards, preparing their favourite meals, baking cakes, or even presenting flowers and gifts as a token of their love and gratitude. Whether he is a strict father, a cool dad or a stay-at-home dad, this Father’s Day, show some love and thank him for being supportive and helping you mould your life.

The history of Father’s Day

The history of Mother’s Day goes back to the 1860s, and Mother’s Day was declared a national holiday in 1914. Then the celebration of moms paved the way for Father’s Day. The history of Father’s Day goes back to 1908, when a church in West Virginia held a sermon to honor 362 men who had been killed the previous year in a coal mining explosion. This was the country’s first-ever event to strictly honor fathers, but it was just a one-and-done thing, at least in that community.

The following year, however, a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd started her quest to establish Father’s Day as a national holiday. Dodd was one of six children raised by their single father, and she thought fathers should be honored in the same way as mothers. After she’d petitioned her local community and government for a year, Dodd’s home state of Washington celebrated its first official Father’s Day on June 19, 1910. Over the years, the celebration of Father’s Day spread from state to state, and after a long fight, it was finally declared a national holiday in 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed it into law. Now, we celebrate with funny Father’s Day quotes, dad quotes, father-son quotes, and even stepdad quotes for the bonus dad in our lives.

It took more than 60 years from the birth of the idea to Father’s Day actually being recognized as a federal holiday, and a lot happened to threaten the parent-celebrating holidays during that time. In the 1920s and 1930s, there was a national movement to get rid of both Mother’s and Father’s Day and replace them with one “Parent’s Day.” Beyond that, some men didn’t even want a Father’s Day to begin with. They saw it as a “Hallmark holiday,” invented for the sole purpose of a commercial gimmick, and as many fathers were the sole breadwinners at the time, they didn’t particularly want their hard-earned cash spent on flowers and chocolates. The Great Depression and World War II, however, helped boost the idea of Father’s Day. Struggling retailers pushed the gift-giving holiday during the Depression, and during the war, Father’s Day became a way to honor the many fathers serving overseas. By the time President Nixon signed the proclamation making Father’s Day a holiday, it was already a national institution.

If you have trouble remembering dates, you can stop fretting about this one! Much like the Thanksgiving rule (it falls on the fourth Thursday in November), Father’s Day has a set day, but there’s no set date for dad’s day (at least here in the United States). Each year, the date of Father’s Day changes, but it always falls on the third Sunday in June. In 2022, it will share a date with Juneteenth and fall on June 19. So, all you need to remember is June, and where to find these free Father’s Day cards if you’re caught short on your way to dad’s house come the third Sunday.

Father’s Day is celebrated on different days in different countries. For example, in Europe, the United States, and the majority of other countries, the holiday is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. In many Catholic countries, especially in Latin America, fathers are celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day, which falls on March 19. In many Pacific countries, including Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, Father’s Day occurs on the first Sunday in September.

Now that you know the history of Father’s Day, you’re probably wondering how to celebrate with your dad. Spending time together is the best place to start, even if it’s just watching one of these Father’s Day movies together.

Significance and celebration

On Father’s Day each year, children acknowledge and appreciate their fathers and father figures who play an important role in their lives, be it emotionally, mentally or even financially. On this day, children understand the importance of the role of a father in one’s life and acknowledge the contribution of fathers to their own families and society at large. Children buy or make presents for their father or father-like figure, write and draw cards, spend the day engaging in activities that can be enjoyed with one’s father be it hiking, fishing or just sitting around watching some television series. Since most kids have a closer bond with their mothers, this day definitely helps forge a closer relation with one’s dad. Father’s Day is a celebration of fathers, honouring fatherhood, paternal bonds and the role fathers play in society.