The History Of Father's Day
A Love Story Like Mother's Day, a holiday for dads was inspired by a daughter's love. Back in 1910, Sonora Smart Dodd petitioned a group of ministers in Spokane, Washington, to honor her widowed dad (who had raised six kids solo), along with other fathers. On the third Sunday in June the pastors of several Washington State churches gave father-focused sermons, and that story was picked up by several newspapers. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge encouraged states to set aside a day to honor fathers, but it wasn't until June 1972, when President Richard Nixon signed it into law, that it became a permanent national holiday. Today, Father's Day events are celebrated in more than 50 countries around the world. |