Linda Dunn
Did you know that Father’s Day has been recognized since the middle ages, although it wasn’t an official holiday in the United States until 1972 — a full 58 years after Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day an official holiday? This holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday in June which will be Sunday, June 18th this year.
In Europe and many other places, Father’s Day is usually celebrated on March 19th, as it is the feast day of Saint Joseph. The Catholic Church actively supported the custom of a celebration of fatherhood on St. Joseph’s Day from either the last years of the 14th century or from the early 15th Century.
The first known US government recognized observation of “Father’s Day” occurred June 19, 1910 in the state of Washington as an initiative begun by Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by her widowed father.
There was initially scant interest. Fathers of that era took a dim view of the holiday; seeing it as a “sentimental attempt to domesticate manliness with flowers and gifts that the men were actually paying for themselves.”
They did have a valid point about “buying their own gifts,” but President Wilson — a father of three girls — honored the day in 1916 and President Coolidge urged state governments to observe the holiday in 1924. However, the late 20s and early 30s brought forth a movement to merge Mother’s Day and Father’s Day into a single holiday — Parents’ Day — rather than establish a separate day to recognize dads.
The Great Depression put an end to that movement, and Dodd, who had returned to Spokane during the 30s, stepped up her effort for a separate Father’s Day.
While florists did not view Father’s Day as a potential money-maker, there were retailers who saw this holiday as a good opportunity to boost sales of tobacco, socks, neckties and hats.
When WWII began, Father’s Day became a way to support the war effort and honor our troops. However, it remained an unofficial and little noticed holiday until President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers in 1966 and designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. (He did not make it a permanent national holiday; that was done by President Nixon in 1972.)
Ironically, Father’s Day finally became a national holiday about the same time a father’s role was rapidly changing.
By the 1980s, 44% more children had working moms than in the 1970s and we had a nationwide transition from traditional roles to multiple, undefined roles for fathers.
By the 1990s, fewer of us were living with our biological fathers and our definition of “father” has widened to include many who served as social and legal fathers and stepfathers in families whose structures ranged from married to cohabiting, recombined, and single parents. They may not have had the legal recognition of “fatherhood,” but these men were filling roles that most of us recognize as critical to a child’s development.
The relationship between a “father” and child has a deep and long-lasting impact. In numerous studies, positive father involvement is associated with academic achievements, emotional security, self-esteem and social competence.
Possibly most important of all, however, is that the influence of a father’s love helps children develop a sense of their place in the world and children who grow up certain of their father’s love are less likely to struggle with behavioral or substance abuse problems even when they didn’t have constant contact with their dads.
Thus, our upcoming Father’s Day recognition is not restricted to just one father in your life, but is an opportunity to recognize (and retailers would encourage you to gift) everyone you view as being a “Dad” throughout or at important times during your life.
You don’t need to give them an expensive gift (although retailers would prefer you did). The best gift you can give Dad is simply to share with him a card, letter, email, or even a newspaper ad or social media post, telling him how much you appreciate his influence in your life.
And if you’re lucky enough to be a Dad in someone’s life, then you’ve already got the best gift in the world.
A lifelong resident of Hancock County, Linda Dunn is an author and retired Department of Defense employee.
