The origin stories of Father's Day
What's the story
The third Sunday of June every year is reserved to honor fathers and the role they play in a child's upbringing. The holiday started in the US years ago. Sonora Smart Dodd of Washington is often credited with ideating the holiday. Her father, a Civil War veteran, raised her along with her five siblings after their mother's demise due to childbirth.
Beginning
The idea originates
The idea of dedicating a day to fathers developed in Dodd's head in 1909 while listening to a sermon on Mother's Day. At the time Mother's day was getting established as a holiday, and the religious leaders supported the concept of the day. Dodd petitioned for a holiday on fathers on June 5, the anniversary of her father's death in Spokane, Washington.
Countrywide acceptance
Formal recognition of the day
Father's Day was first celebrated on June 19, 1910, the month of the birthday of Dodd's father. In 1924, US President Calvin Coolidge supported the observance, and in 1966, President Lyndon B Johnson issued a proclamation recognizing the day. It became more official in 1972 when President Richard Nixon designated the third Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day from West Virginia
Other stories about the origin
Grace Golden Clayton is, in some sources, credited with coming up with the idea for Father's Day in 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia. Clayton wanted to celebrate fathers after 361 local men died in a mine explosion. Clayton expressed the idea to the minister of the local church. According to some historians, Father's Day may have been there since medieval times.
St. Joseph’s Day
Religious reference
St. Joseph's Day has been celebrated on March 19 in Catholic nations since medieval times. March 19 falls during Lent, the season of fast. The day commemorates Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and the legal father of Jesus Christ, and advocates that he should be identified as the ideal example of fatherhood. In the Catholic Church, this day is considered a solemnity.