Origin of Father’s Day and when it was declared a holiday

By the way, for that one person reading this who is yet to decide on how to treat their father, here is your five-step guide. 

While we are at it, it is Father’s Day, not Fathers’ Day. According to​​ Dictionary.com, having the apostrophe before the s, Father’s Day "belongs" to each individual father. 

“If the apostrophe falls after the s, the meaning slightly changes. That would be a holiday "belonging" to all fathers as a collective.”

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, there are some interesting facts about the day.

Some countries like Lithuania, Estonia, and some parts of Spain, celebrate it as Parents’ Day, where it is recognised as a public and national holiday.

So how did Father’s Day come about?

Father’s Day began in the United States in the early 20th century as a result of the success of Mother’s Day.

Father’s Day is the brainchild of two women; Grace Golden Clayton of West Virginia and Sonora Dodd of Washington.

It is said that Ms. Clayton suggested to her pastor in 1908 that the church honor fathers while Ms. Dodd started a petition to recognise the holiday.

Ms. Dodd and her five siblings were raised by a single father in a time when that was largely uncommon.

According to various reports, the holiday was first observed on July, 5 1908, although there are two accounts of how the day came into being.

The first piece of legislation that followed was a 1913 bill by the U.S. Congress, recognizing the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

Although the holiday initially failed to achieve as much popularity as Mother’s day, it was formally recognised in 1966, when President Lyndon B Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers.

He designated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. In 1972, President Richard Nixon made Father's Day a permanent national holiday by signing it into law.

In the UK, Father’s Day is still celebrated on the third Sunday of June while other places like Andorra, Croatia, Mozambique, Angola, Honduras, Portugal, Antwerp, Italy, Spain, Bolivia, Lichtenstein, and Ticino celebrate it in June.

Some countries mark the occasion in May, such as Kazakhstan, South Korea, Romania, Tonga, and Germany.

In Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, and Chile, meanwhile, it falls on 21 June of every year, regardless of the day of the week. The day is observed in July and August in places such as Haiti, Uruguay, Taiwan, Brazil, Samoa, and South Sudan.

Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea celebrate Father’s Day in September, while Luxembourg and Russia celebrate in October.

In Estonia, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Indonesia, the holiday is celebrated in November, while Bulgaria and Thailand celebrate in December.