Father's Day Vouchers & Deals

Father's Day is a day honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 52 of the world's countries and on other days elsewhere. It complements Mother's Day, the celebration honoring mothers. Modern Father's Day was invented by Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington, who was also the driving force behind its establishment. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who reared his six children in Spokane, Washington. She was inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first June Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA, at the Spokane YMCA. Unofficial support from such figures as William Jennings Bryan was immediate and widespread. President Woodrow Wilson was personally feted by his family in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon. In recent years, retailers have adapted to the holiday by promoting greeting cards and male-oriented gifts such as electronics and tools. Schools and other children's programs commonly have activities to make Father's Day gifts. History Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting. It is also celebrated to honor and commemorate our fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities. The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on June 19, 1910 through the efforts of Sonora Dodd. Ms. Dodd is from Spokane, Washington. Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington thought independently of the holiday one Sunday in 1909 while listening to a Mother's Day sermon at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church at Spokane. She wanted a celebration that honored fathers that were like her own father, William Smart. He was a Civil War veteran, his wife died when Sonora was 16 and he had to take care of all six children. On June 19, 1910, she arranged a tribute for her father in Spokane. She had previously enlisted in 1909 the help of the Spokane Ministerial association, and young members of the YMCA went to church wearing roses: a red rose to honor a living father, and a white rose to honor a deceased one. Dodd travelled through the city in a closed carriage, carrying gifts to shut-in[clarification needed] fathers. She was the first to solicit the idea of having an official Father's Day observance to honor all fathers. It took many years to make the holiday official. In spite of support from the YWCA, the YMCA and churches, it ran the risk of disappearing from the calendar. Where Mother's Day was met with enthusiasm, Father's Day was met with laughter. The holiday was gathering attention slowly, but for the wrong reasons. It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, including jokes from the local newspaper Spokesman-Review. Many people saw it as just the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions like "Grandparents' Day", "Professional Secretaries' Day", etc., all the way down to "National Clean Your Desk Day." A bill was introduced in 1913. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but the Congress resisted, fearing that it would be commercialized. US President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the celebration was held, . and a national committee was formed in the 1930s by trade groups in order to legitimize the holiday. Other two bills to introduce the holiday were defeated. In 1957 Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing the congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "[singling] out just one of our own parents" In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson made a proclamation for third Sunday of June to be Father's Day, but it wasn't made an official national holiday until President Nixon made a proclamation in 1972. In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 for men and boys who are not fathers.