Father's Day

In June of every year, we honor fathers. The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1914, but a holiday honoring fathers did not become official until 1966, when President Lyndon Johnson declared that the third Sunday in June would be Father's Day. President Richard Nixon made this proclamation permanent in 1972. But this doesn't mean that the holiday was not celebrated before this time.

The idea for Father's Day is attributed to Sonora Dodd, who was raised by her father after her mother's death during childbirth. While listening to a sermon at church on Mother's Day, she thought about all her father had done for her and her siblings and decided fathers should have a day, too. Because Dodd's father was born in June, she encouraged churches in her area, Spokane, Wash., to honor fathers that month. The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane in 1910.

Over the years, the idea spread, and people lobbied Congress to establish the holiday. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson, who had signed a proclamation establishing Mother's Day, approved the idea, but never signed a proclamation for it. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations."

Look in the American Memory Web site and you'll find hundreds of items relating to dads — posters, photographs, sheet music, even a letter from Teddy Roosevelt to his son.

The only reason was a rejection of Mother's Day by a daughter who knew her father did all of that and more for her and her siblings.  Think about this the father was single in Washington State and had a daughter and other kids who needed Dad to make life liveable.  I don't know much about the time other than life was alot harder back then, by our standards,  than today.   I do know that often single parents remained single for the rest of their lives due to the inability to attract a wife to a wilderness home. 

I am not against Father's Day in any manner but I am against forcing others to share your own beliefs.  Does this day do anything for Fathers?  Not really all most modern Fathers do on this day is sit back and enjoy a day when they don't do anything.  Hey that is a typical Weekend for most men. I personally would rather have my children remember me for what I have done for them rather than "What do you want for Father's Day Daddy?" questions all the time. 

My advice to Father's out there.  Enjoy your children while you can.  Be truthful to the kids and hopefully every day will become special.

Check out http://www.loc.gov/wiseguide/jun03/father.html for more information.