Father’s Day, an annual celebration of our fathers who have raised us into the people we are today. With the holiday coming up, it’s important to take some time to learn about its origin and why it was created.
The History of Fathers’ Day
While the holiday has its roots in Christianity, there are two stories regarding the exact origin of Father’s Day.
The holiday was first conceptualized by a woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, as an act of honoring her late father. Her father was a Civil War veteran that raised all six of his children by himself after his wife passed away. Sonora decided as a way to commemorate his hard work, she would designate June 5th, 1910 as Father’s day, the anniversary date of her father’s death. Unfortunately, due to subpar planning, the event would be pushed by 2 weeks to the third Sunday of June.
The other account for the origin of Father’s Day stems from Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908. A woman named Grace Golden Clayton suggested the date to a minister of the local Methodist church to hold services that mounted the 361 men that were killed in a deadly mine explosion.
While there were talks in government about making Father’s Day a national holiday, even so far as President Calvin Coolidge recommended it become one in 1924, it was not official until 1966. That was when President Lyndon B. Johnson, made an executive order to designate the third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate Father’s Day, and in 1972, When President Nixon, recognized the day as a national holiday.
How to Show Your Dad You Care?
With the holiday coming up, I am sure many of us are scrambling to get a gift. Especially during covid, it’s hard to find something meaningful when most places are closed.
Here are some ways you can give your dad the perfect gift:-
Spend Time! While buying him something expensive or useful is great and all. What dads really want is to spend their time with their kids. Go out and do something or spend the day hanging around and talking to him. The best gift any dad can ask for is some time to get to know their kids.
Make him something Since it’s hard to shop right now, especially in Ontario with the lockdowns, the best thing to do is make him something! Whether that be a card, a meal, or even a drink, showing that you put in the effort to personally make something for him proves that you care.
Focus on making memories, not items while it is easy to just buy something that he wants or that you think would be useful for him. The day is spent commemorating the hard work they put into raising you. Thus, the perfect gift would be something that he’ll take away for many years to come.
