10 Quick Facts About Father’s Day
by Carolyn Lee Jun 9, 2021
Fathers deserve to be celebrated every day of the year. They are a source of wisdom, support, and fun.
Their presence in our lives reminds us that we are loved and have someone we can rely on.
On 20 June 2021, our tradition of love and gratitude for the man we call ‘dad’ will find many of us showering him with gifts and other amazing treats.
We love that there is a special day that is designated to honouring fathers. As we approach this date, we wondered about who started Father’s Day and why.
From when it started to random facts about fathers, we thought it would be fun to share a few facts about Father’s Day.
1. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, is credited with working to establish a day that celebrated fathers. She wanted to honour her father, William Jackson Smart, a civil war veteran, who had single-handedly raised her and her sibling after their mother died in childbirth.
2. The first Father’s Day was celebrated on 19 June 1910 in Washington, USA. However, it didn’t become an official recognised day until 1972.
3. Although Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in the UK, US, Caribbean, etc., other countries, especially in Europe and Latin America, celebrate fathers on St Joseph’s Day (19 March).
4. Father’s Day was initially met with derision, as some men thought it was too sentimental and an attempt to domesticate men with gift-giving and flowers to boost the sale of products.
5. It has become common for wives to send cards and/or gifts to their husbands and their father on Father’s Day.
6. The official flower for Father’s Day is a rose! A red rose is used for fathers who are alive, and a white rose is worn if dad has passed away.
7. In addition to Father’s Day cards, a necktie is the most popular gift!
8. In 1912, Halsey W Taylor created the potable drinking water fountain to honour his father, who died from typhoid fever after drinking contaminated water from a public source.
9. According to Fact Retriever, Father’s Day is the fourth most popular day for sending cards, with approximately 87 million cards being sent each year.
10. The website, The Shelf, states that most men use social media more after becoming fathers. Some use it to get advice from other dads, product tips and stay abreast of what’s happening with their children.
Bonus: If you are spending time with dad on Father’s Day and he’s into movies, some of the best movies to watch about fatherhood include Mrs Doubtfire, The Pursuit of Happyness, Daddy’s Home, Taken, Daddy Day Care and Annie.
We enjoyed sourcing these facts, so we hope you found them interesting and fun. Try sharing them with your dad to see what his reaction will be.
If dad is into self-care, we’ve got a few tips that can help.
Sources: CNN, Visit Spokane, History, Education, and The Shelf.