Father’s Day

The Origin of Father’s Day

The world’s first Father’s Day, born in 1910 in the United States, was advocated by Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, who lived in Spokane, Washington. Her mother died of childbirth when she gave birth to her sixth child. Mrs. Dodd’s father, Mr. William Smart, had fought in the Civil War. After his wife died, he was alone in a rural farm in eastern Washington State, taking on the responsibility of raising and educating six children. Mrs. Dodd was the second child in the family and the only girl in the family. The careful nature of the woman made her feel more about her father’s hard work. Mr. Smart worked hard during the day and took care of the housework and the life of every child when he came home at night. After decades of hard work, the children finally grew up. When the children hoped to make Mr. Smart enjoy his old age, Mr. Smart died in 1909 because of years of overwork.

When Mr. Smart died in 1909, Mrs. Dodd missed her father very much after attending the Mother’s Day Thanksgiving service in the church. Mrs. Dodd knew that her father’s love and hardship in raising children was no less than that of any mother. Mrs. Dodd told the church’s Rev. Rasmus how she felt and hoped for a special day in memory of the great father of the whole world. This idea was approved by the priest and supported by various church organizations. Mrs. Dodd wrote to the mayor and the state government to express her ideas, and suggested that her father’s birthday, 5 June every year, be Father’s Day. The mayor of Spokane and the governor of Washington publicly expressed their approval. The state government adopted it. This proposal was accompanied by the change of the holiday period to the third Sunday of June. On June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington, where Mrs. Dodd lived, the world’s first Father’s Day celebration was held. At about the same time, people in other towns across the United States began to celebrate Father’s Day.

The Celebration of Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, people choose specific flowers to express their respects and longing for their fathers. They adopt Mrs. Dodd’s suggestion that red roses be worn to show their love for their living fathers, while white roses are worn to express their mourning for their dead fathers. In some places, dandelion is used as a symbol of Father’s Day, in others, lilac with a green leaf is used to pay tribute to father.

Today, We always use kinds of ways to express our gratitude to our fathers, such as sending a gift, making a meal for father and so on.

How are you going to celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday?

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