About Fathers Day

The importance of a father can't be neglected or ignored at all and he is the superhero who is always ready to take on everyday troubles of his children. Just like a mother, the significance of a father is beyond words as he is the person who works tirelessly in office to fulfill the requirements of his children and then tries to spend maximum time with his children alongside. To honour the spirit of all such fathers and to celebrate the paternal bonding, a special day is observed every year as Father's Day to commemorate the efforts and contributions of fathers in the society.

This Day is celebrated on different dates in various countries of the world. However, in countries like India, USA, UK, Japan, Ireland, Bangladesh, Pakistan and others, the Father's Day is observed on Third Sunday of the June which falls on 16th June for the year 2024.

Traces of Father's Day Origin

The present celebration of the Father's Day goes back to the time of Middle Ages when the celebration of fatherhood was done with a customary day in the Catholic Europe that was observed on 19th March. The day was celebrated as the feast day of Saint Joseph who is known as the fatherly Nutritor Domini or the "Nourisher of the Lord" in the Catholic Community and is "the putative father of Jesus" in the southern European tradition. The festival was later brought to Americans by the Spanish and Portuguese whereas in Latin American countries, the occasion is still celebrated on 19th March.

The Catholic Church community actively backed the tradition of celebrating fatherhood on St. Joseph's day from the last years of the 14th century or from the early 15th century on the recommendation of Franciscans. Further, in the Coptic Church, the fatherhood is also celebrated on St Joseph's Day but the Copts celebrate the occasion on 20th July. This celebration by the Coptic Church is believed to have started during the 5th century.

Present Day History and Significance of Father's Day

Father's Day was not celebrated in the US and other countries outside the Catholic traditions until the beginning of 20th century. It began to be celebrated in the USA as a compliment to Mother's Day in order to celebrate the male parenting and to honour fathers through fathers day gifts during the early 20th century.

The first attempt to celebrate the Father's Day was done on 5th July, 1908 in the Fairmont, West Virginia, in the Central United Methodist Church due to the efforts of Grace Golden Clayton in the memory of her father and other fathers who died in the Monongah Mining Disaster in December, 1907. However, her efforts did not transformed into a national movement and the celebration was later disbanded in the subsequent years. Another attempt in this regard was done by Jane Addams in the year 1911 when her request for a city wide celebration of Father's Day was turned down by the authorities.

Finally, the Father's Day celebration was done on 19th June, 1910 at the YMCA in Spokane, Washington by the initiative of Sonora Smart Dodd. She gave the idea of celebrating the Father's Day after hearing the sermon about Jarvis Mother's Day in 1909 at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church. Later on, the Third Sunday of June was decided as the Father's Day by the support of various local clergymen on 19th June, 1910. The Bill to formally recognise the Father's Day holiday was introduced in the Congress in the year 1913, but the attempt to get the Congress approval was defeated two times earlier. By the year 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the formal proclamation honouring fathers by announcing the Third Sunday in June as the official Father's Day. Six years later, the President Richard Nixon made it a national holiday by a law in the year 1972.

The Father's Day is celebrated across the world with the objective of realising and honouring the contribution of fathers in the society. It is a day which celebrates the fatherhood, paternal bonds and the efforts of male parents towards their family and society. The day is meant to recall, recognise and remember the endless efforts, initiatives and contributions of all the fathers around us. Father's Day is an occasion to honour all the fatherly figures like Stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles or even big brothers. It is a reciprocal occasion in response of the Mother's Day celebration that was the part of the society since a long time.