by Leona Ash

Created on: June 08, 2008

Father's Day is the celebration of the male parenting figure. Who go to work each day, toiling so that he can bring money home to feed his family. Who fixes the house, making sure his family can have a cozy home to live in. Who spends his weekend as handyman around the house, making sure everything is in working order.

Such is the greatness of this male figure, that it is only fair to devote one day a year to pay proper tribute and express your gratitude to him.

Different countries celebrate the occasion on different days and the origin of the day was sprung from the mind of one Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, who came up with the idea upon hearing a Mother's Day sermon in 1909.

Sonora was raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died after giving birth to their sixth child. Sonora was only 16 then. Smart played both mom and dad to the six young children, making many sacrifices in the process. As an adult, Sonora came to realize how selflessness her father was. She strongly feels that if there is one day a year to celebrate all mothers, the same should be done for fathers as well. She then approached the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to propose the idea of Father's Day, and suggested that her own father's birthday be the day of recognition for all fathers. The alliance saw merit to her idea, but decided to go with the third Sunday in June instead. And so began the inaugural Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th June 1910.

The idea of celebrating Father's Day soon spread like wildfire across the nation. And in 1916, US president Woodrow Wilson descended upon Spokane and gave a speech at Father's Day services. And in 1966, Father's Day got a further boost from President Lyndon Johnson, who signed a presidential proclamation that declares the third Sunday of every June as Father's Day. Six years later, in 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of the day to take place on the 3rd Sunday of June each year.

Today, Father's Day is celebrated in many countries across the world, although not all on the 3rd Sunday of every June. The annual celebration typically involves gift-giving and family oriented activities. This is possible all thanks to a sensitive girl, who appreciates all that her own father has done and was determined to show him the honour and recognition he and all the father figures in the world deserve.

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