Easy Reading - Father's Day:
Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June. People in North America honor their fathers on this day with cards and gifts. This holiday was started by a woman named Sonora Dodd. She got the idea on Mother's Day in 1909. Sonora was in church listening to the minister talk about mothers. She thought of her father, William Smart. William had fought in the U.S. Civil War. Later, he was a farmer in Washington State. William's wife died when their sixth child was born. He raised the six children by himself.
Sonora thought of everything her father had done for his family. She thought there should be a day to honor all fathers. So she started one. The first Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. It happened in Spokane, Washington, where Sonora Dodd lived. She chose June because it was the month of her father's birthday. Father's Day soon became popular, but it was not made an official holiday until 1966.
Some people wear roses for Father's Day -- red roses if their father is living, white roses if he has died.
Like Mother's Day, Father's Day has become a time when some companies make a lot of money selling cards and gifts. A popular cliche is that everyone gets their father a tie for Father's Day.
Reprinted with permission: Each Week for a Year: Readings for ESL Students on Everyday Life in the USA by Jane Wangersky
