The Start of Father’s Day Celebration

by Richel de los Reyes-Cipriano

Father’s Day is an annual celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June. But it is also celebrated widely on other days. Father’s Day is created to complement Mother’s Day, a celebration that honors mothers and motherhood. 

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd came up with the idea of Father’s day. She lived in Spokane, Washington, USA. Sonora was the oldest of six children raised by their father, William Jackson Smart, when their mother died during childbirth. Sonora honored and revered her father, and while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, she determined there should also be a day to honor fathers.

Sonora gained local support and made her dream a reality one year later within her own city of Spokane, Washington. Sonora married John Bruce Dodd. She died March 22, 1978, several years after Father’s Day became a permanent national observance.

In 1910 Sonora chose June 19th as the day to celebrate Father’s Day because that was her father’s birthday. With the support from the Spokane Ministerial Association and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910.

Today, Father’s Day is celebrated in every part of the world. In the United States, Canada and most countries in Asia, including the Philippines, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June.

There are all kinds of things to do to make Father’s Day special for your dad-- Make dad breakfast in bed, send him flowers (the red rose is the official Father’s Day flower), do secret acts of kindness, be obedient, make or take him out to dinner or send him greeting card.

A father is someone who knows what we need, meets all challenges and ordeals in life in order to live. A father is someone who’s always loving and sincere, dedicated and devoted to his family’s happiness and welfare.

Happy father’s day to all tatay, daddy, papa, amang, itang! /MP