It's a day devoted to breakfasts in bed, family gatherings and crayon-scribbled "I Love You" cards - Father's Day. It is a day to commemorate and celebrate fathers, but it can also be a day to honour all men who have been a father figure in your life - stepfathers, grandfathers, big brothers and uncles.
Contrary to popular belief, Father's Day is not a holiday that was established by greeting card companies.
History
Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Washington was the first to propose the idea of Father's Day in 1909. Sonora was the eldest of six children raised by their father, William Jackson Smart. Their mother died during childbirth. Sonora revered and admired her father for raising a family as a single parent. While listening to a Mother's Day sermon, she determined there should also be a day to honour fathers.
Sonora gained local support and her dream came true when the first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in her hometown of Spokane, Washington. She chose this day because it was her father's birthday. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Then, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day. Finally, it was President Richard Nixon who signed the law that made the day permanent in 1972.
Canada and most countries in Asia also observe the occasion on the same day. A Father's Day tradition exists in many other countries worldwide, although the dates may vary.
