Celebrating Father’s Day
Father’s Day is celebrated to honor fathers and their influence in society. It is a day to celebrate fatherhood and recognize the person who is our inspiration, guidance, and support.
Father is a symbol of strength like a foundation upon which a house is built upon. We only see the elevation, the garden, and the flowers on the front, the beautiful interiors, the cozy bedrooms, etc.
The foundation stands strong amidst all disasters. The ground beneath may give up, the soil around the foundation can turn its enemy, but the foundation remains solid to keep the house afloat.
“A father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”
When is Father’s Day?
Father’s Day this year falls on Sunday, 16 June i.e. the third Sunday in June. The officially recognized date of Father’s Day varies from country to country. Some countries, such as Australia, Finland, and Thailand, celebrate Father’s Day at other times of the year.
In India, it is celebrated on the third Sunday of June which is Jun 16, 2024.
History of Father’s Day
Father’s Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in June. Sonora Dodd, of Washington, was one of the first people who had the idea of a “Father’s Day”. She thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.
Sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. Smart, who was a Civil War veteran was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child.
Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state.
After Sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man.
Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
Even before Dodd, however, the idea of observing a day in honor of fathers was promoted. Dr. Robert Webb conducted what is believed as the first Father’s Day service at the Central Church of Fairmont, West Virginia in 1908. It was Dodd’s efforts, however, that eventually led to a national observance.
President Calvin Coolidge, in 1924, supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Then in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day.
Father’s Day Celebration in India
There is no universal date when every country celebrates Father’s Day. In many countries, it is on the third Sunday in June including India.
India traditionally has a two-week celebration since ancient days dedicated to celebrating ancestors called the Pitrupaksha. Father’s Day is not celebrated in all of India.
But it is observed on the same day as the USA, the third Sunday of June by mostly westernized urban centers. The event is not a public holiday.
The day is usually celebrated only in bigger cities of India like Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and others.
After this day was first observed in the United States in 1908 and gradually gained popularity, Indian metropolitan cities, much later, followed suit by recognizing this event. In India, the day is usually celebrated with children giving gifts like greeting cards, electronic gadgets, shirts, coffee mugs, or books to their fathers.
….. A day to celebrate the unsung heroes of each family.
Suggested Read: Make your Father Feel Special
Some beautiful verses that you can write to your Father…
- Dry men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of the song.
- A father is a fellow who has replaced the CURRENCY in his wallet with the snapshots of his kids and family.
- One of the greatest titles in the world is the parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world is to have parents to call mom and dad.
- A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again.
- The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.
- It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.
- For all the love and care,
for all the moments shared,
for all the joys you brought,
for all the things you taught,
You have always made me glad.
Happy Father’s Day, to the best dad.
Father’s Day 2024 – Wishes, Quotes, Greetings, Images, Cards, Messages
