Father's Day

Mark Mwandoro
​Director of Marketing

"A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow" (Robinson, 2022). Finding the right words or crafting up the perfect message for the fathers and other men who have stepped into the role of a father, in our lives is not always easy as words may not sufficiently express how dear they are to us. The third Sunday of June is a special day dedicated to our heroes to make them feel acknowledged and to let them know their impact on our lives is appreciated. 

Anyone can father a child, but being a dad takes a lifetime. Fathers play a role in every child’s life that cannot be filled by others. This role can have a large impact on a child and help shape him or her into the person they become. People mostly talk about how being a mother is hard many a time, but fatherhood can be just as difficult and a crucial part of family life, especially in influencing the way they grow up. The modern stereotype is that dads are either clumsy or outright inadequate at being part of a child’s life, but the media never really portrayed that well.

Fathers are pillars in the development of a child’s emotional well-being. Children look to their fathers for guidance, instruction, security, and inspiration. Notice how most children want to make their fathers proud? Studies have shown that when fathers are affectionate and supportive, it greatly affects a child’s cognitive and social development, and instills an overall sense of well-being and self-confidence (PediatricAssociates, 2022). The patterns a father sets in the relationships with his children will dictate how his children relate with other people.

Father’s day coming up may simply seem like the equivalent of Mother’s Day for dads, but the two holidays have very different origins. The holiday can be traced back to 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd, inspired by how her father, a widower, rose to the challenge of raising her and her five siblings alone, thought there should be a special day to recognize dads (Lowe, 2022). To honor her father, she petitioned local government officials, churches, and other local organizations to celebrate Father’s day on 5th June, the anniversary of her father's death, in her native Spokane, Wash (LivingstoneNews, 2022). 

Slowly, the holiday spread, and multiple presidents adopted it including Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge. It wasn’t until 1970 that Congress passed a joint resolution that would authorize the president to designate the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

Many men continue to disdain the holiday, citing attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving as a commercial gimmick to sell more products–often paid for by the father himself (History, 2022). During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a widespread campaign to replace mother’s day and father’s day with a single holiday, Parent’s day. It was felt that both parents should be celebrated together to show equal love and respect for them. In 1972, in the middle of a hard-fought presidential re-election campaign, Richard Nixon signed a proclamation making Father’s Day a federal holiday at last (History, 2022). Government officials were to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on such day, inviting the governments of the States and communities and the people of the United States to observe such day with appropriate pomp. 

Presently, Father’s Day has been commercialized with the sending of greeting cards and the giving of gifts. Some observe the custom of wearing a red rose to indicate that one’s father is living or a white rose to indicate that he is deceased. Children give gifts and greeting cards to their fathers and spend the day with them. Many people send or give cards or traditionally masculine gifts such as sports items or clothing, electronic gadgets, outdoor cooking supplies, and tools for household maintenance.

Father’s Day looks different for everyone and can bring up a range of emotions, especially for those who have experienced loss and are still grieving. There’s no reason you can’t still honor someone who has passed unless you don’t want to. This can be a day of reminiscing, doing things that make you feel closer to your father, and honoring their memory. Do things that invite peace and tranquility. 

It is a day that commemorates fatherhood and appreciates all fathers and father figures (including grandfathers, great-grandfathers, stepfathers, and foster fathers) as well as their contribution to society.
 
 
References

​History. (2022, June 13). Fathers Day 2022. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day

LivingstoneNews. (2022, June 17). A Brief History of Fathers Day. Retrieved from Livingstone County News: https://www.thelcn.com/lifestyles/a-brief-history-of-father-s-day/article_11ceca34-0140-5b14-8f72-7c54f0a10158.html#:~:text=In%201909%2C%20while%20attending%20a,in%20her%20native%20Spokane%2C%20Wash.

Lowe, L. (2022, June 16). What’s the History of Father’s Day, and When Is Father’s Day 2022. Retrieved from Parade: https://parade.com/1035521/lindsaylowe/fathers-day-2022/

PediatricAssociates. (2022). THE IMPORTANCE OF A FATHER IN A CHILD’S LIFE. Retrieved from Pediatric Associates of Franklin: https://www.pediatricsoffranklin.com/resources-and-education/pediatric-care/the-importance-of-a-father-in-a-childs-life/#:~:text=Fathers%2C%20like%20mothers%2C%20are%20pillars,security%2C%20both%20physical%20and%20emotional.

Robinson, K. (2022, June 7). Because sometimes "Happy Father's Day" just isn't enough. Retrieved from Town&Country: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/g10027429/fathers-day-quotes/