Today is Father’s Day. It is the special day of the year that is set aside to honor fathers and father-figures who are important and have had a positive impact in their children’s or other’s lives. Below is a brief history of Father’s Day in the United States of America.
“On July 5, 1908, a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly in honor of fathers, a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, but it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday.
The next year, a Spokane, Washington, woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on June 19, 1910.
Slowly, the holiday spread. In 1916, President Wilson honored the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane when he pressed a button in Washington, D.C. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge urged state governments to observe Father’s Day.
Today, the day honoring fathers is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday of June: Father’s Day 2021 occurs on June 20.” (History.com)
The reason that I bring up the topic of Father’s Day is because it is a very important day in the life of fathers who have raised a child or any male who has made a positive difference in the lives of children while they were growing up.
Any time that my family celebrates a birthday, graduation, or some other special event, the person who we are celebrating has the opportunity to choose what he or she wants to do for that day. With today being Father’s Day, I chose what I wanted to do for the day. Spending time with family is very important. So, I chose several things to do that focused on family. First, Barb (my wife), Thomas (our son) and I made a trip to Ben’s Deli in Morrisville, PA to enjoy fellowship and a nice breakfast together. Second, our family invited Barb’s parents to our home to enjoy fellowship and a barbecue cookout (hot dogs, zucchini, corn on the cob, baked beans, salad). Third, our family made a trip to my parents’ home to enjoy fellowship and a home cooked dinner. One of the big things about visiting my parents is that Barb and I gave them a gift. It was a gift that would reveal whether Sarah, our daughter, is having a boy or girl for her first baby. It was cool to watch my parents open the gift. It was several articles of clothing that were blue. Sarah and Jacob, her husband, are going to have their first child, Barb and I are going to be grandparents for the first time, and my parents and Barb’s parents are going to be great grandparents for the first time. How cool is that?
Father’s Day was so special for me today. It was very special because of how we celebrated Father’s Day – time well-spent with family enjoying fellowship and very good meals, and letting my parents know the news about the fact that there is going to be another boy in the family. “Happy Father’s Day” to all fathers out there!