June 16, 2023 – Father’s Day

Father’s Day is Sunday! The first Father’s Day celebration happened in Spokane, Washington in 1910. It was all the idea of Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd. He held her father in very high esteem. He was a Civil War veteran and widower, who raised his 6 children there in Spokane. Dodd heard a sermon about Mother’s Day at her church in 1909 and told her pastor that father’s deserved a holiday too. She initially suggested celebrating on June 5, her father’s birthday, but the pastors needed more time to prepare their sermons, so the holiday was moved to the 3rd Sunday in June. The first Father’s Day included a church service, where daughters handed their fathers roses during the mass. The kids also had roses pinned on them to further honor their dads, and Dodd took roses and gifts to any father in the community who couldn’t make it to the service. That’s why, believe it or not, roses are the customary flower of Father’s Day! The holiday didn’t have a lot of success initially. There was actually a movement in the 1920s and 30s to get rid of both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and create a joint holiday called Parents Day. Thankfully, this movement petered out in the 1940s. It took until 1966 for President Lyndon Johnson to issue the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, setting the 3rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day. It was made a permanent holiday in 1972, when it was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. This year, Americans are set to spend a record-high $22.9 billion on Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation. Top gifts include a special outing (like brunch or dinner), clothing, gift cards, and electronics. Father’s Day is also huge for the greeting card industry. It’s the 4th most popular day for exchanging cards, with around 72 million sold each year. Learn more here.