Yesterday was Fathers Day, and as we were celebrating Fathers Day this weekend I realized that I did not know anything about the origins of the holiday. Of course once I realized this, I could not just let it pass without finding out how Fathers Day started. What I discovered was that it all began in 1909 when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a sermon on Mothers Day. Her mother had died during childbirth and her father, a Civil War Veteran, raised Sonora and her five brothers and sisters on his own after her death. Sonora had the idea that there should be a day for celebrating fathers since there was already a day for celebrating mothers.
Local religious leaders supported Sonora’s idea for a holiday honoring fathers, and a year later in 1910; the first Fathers Day was celebrated. The holiday became official in 1966 when President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed it a national holiday. It was made even more official when it was declared by law in 1972. Although Fathers Day started as a religious holiday, it is a very popular secular holiday that is celebrated by people of many different faiths.
There are many ways that children choose to show their fathers how much they care about them on Fathers Day. Many children make cards for their dads, or bake them a special treat. Children that have grown into adults often give Dad a card and take him out for a special meal or get him a nice gift. Every family has its own special way of celebrating the men who have done so many wonderful things for their children and their families. Fathers contribute many things to their families including love, support, and guidance. They create special memories with their children that last a lifetime. You can preserve and share the memories of those special things that you remember about your Dad by creating a scrapbook of pictures of the fun things that you did or by writing down some of your favorite “Dad stories”.