Contrary to what many people may think, Father's Day was not invented by the greeting card industry to increase revenue. In fact, when the first Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, Father's Day cards did not even exist.
Historians have traced the origin of Father's Day to a woman named Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, who grew up on a rural farm in the eastern part of Washington State. Sonora first envisioned the idea of observing a day to honor fathers while listening to a sermon about Mother's Day in 1909. Since there was a day set aside in honor of mothers, Sonora felt that there should be a special day to honor fathers as well.
Sonora's mother died when she was just a child so her father, William Smart, raised Sonora and her five siblings by himself. As she grew older and married, Sonora came to realize and appreciate all the sacrifices that her father had made raising six children as a single parent. In order to honor the selflessness of her father, and others like him, Sonora organized a Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. She chose the month of June because it was the same month her father was born.
Over the years, many people continued to spread the idea for a special day to honor fathers. One important person who set aside a day just for fathers was Harry C. Meek, president of the Lions Club in Chicago. Mr. Meek was a well-known advocate of Father's Day, and frequently gave speeches around the United States encouraging people to adopt the idea. Due to his continual devotion to establish a national Father's Day, the Lions Clubs of America presented Mr. Meek with a gold watch in 1920. On the watch was the inscription "Originator of Father's Day."
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge showed support for a national Father's Day, however, he did not make it official. Although the idea of a national Father's Day was popular, the idea was not endorsed until 40 years later. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation implementing an official Father's Day. It declared the 3rd Sunday in June as a special day to honor fathers everywhere.
Today, Father's Day is not only a day to honor fathers, but one to show respect for all father figures. Families honor grandfathers, stepfathers, uncles and other adult male figures that are special to them. In the United States, people remember their fathers by calling them, sending cards, or buying gifts especially if they are not able to spend time with them on Father's Day. Americans also honor their fathers by helping around the house, making them special meals, organizing outings, or participating in other activities that their fathers enjoy. Since Father's Day is in June, outdoor activities such as camping and picnics are common. Young children often make cards for their fathers, help with chores, or simply spend the day with their fathers. To show their appreciation, older children may simply give their fathers the gift of time.
Father's Day is the fifth most popular card-sending holiday, with an estimated $95 million in card sales. Not just fathers but husbands, grandfathers, uncles, sons, and sons-in-law are among the honorees.
Only days before Father's Day an estimated 53% of Americans do not know what they will buy for the holiday. If they are like last year's consumers, 60% will buycards while the most popular gifts will be apparel (41%), dinner (38%), sporting goods (22%), home improvement merchandise (18%), electronics (17%), and gardening tools (12%).
A FATHER MEANS...
A Father means so many things...
A understanding heart,
A source of strength and of support
Right from the very start.
A constant readiness to help
In a kind and thoughtful way.
With encouragement and forgiveness
No matter what comes your way.
A special generosity and always affection, too
A Father means so many things
When he's a man like you...
~Author Unknown~
INVENTORY OF DADDIES
Daddies have the tools to make
A doghouse or a kite,
Arms to swing you in the air
And hug you very tight.
Lots of games to play with you,
Experiments to try,
Dimes to give the ice-cream man
When he comes whistling by.
Pocketknives and fishing rods,
A funny joke to share,
Hands to help with buttons, and
To fold with yours in prayer.
~By Doris Chalma Brock~
OUR FATHERS
Our fathers toil with hands and heart
To make our lives complete.
They quietly brave the winter cold,
Endure the summer heat.
Our fathers' lives are busy, but
There's always time for us.
They boldly face the ups and downs
And seldom ever fuss.
Our fathers are the greatest dads.
We know you know this, too.
But thank you for the chance to share
Our love for them with you.
~Author Unknown~
MOST OF ALL
I love you, Dad, for all the things you do.
You make laugh when I am feeling blue.
You can untie the hardest knot of all,
Although I've tugged the lace until it's small.
You know the reason for 'most everything,
Like why it rains and why bees sometime sting,
Like why the sun comes up and flowers bloom,
And why a jet creates a sonic boom.
You are the closest friend I've ever had.
You share with me the times both good and bad.
You play those games I know you hate to play.
And plan a trip for me each holiday.
I love you, Dad, for all the things you do,
But most of all I love you, Dad, for you.
~Author Unknown~
FATHER
Out in the morning Father goes,
Whether it pours with rain or snows,
Whether the wild wind beats and blows:--
By the fire sit Mother and I
Doing our lessons quietly.
Back in the twilight Father comes,
When I've finished with books and sums.
Not all the noise of all the drums
Is a jollier noise, I know,
Than Father when he says, "Hallo!"
~Author Unknown~
THANK YOU, DAD
Thank you Dad,
for giving us a very special gift.
Its the most important gift of all,
That only love can give.
You read us the Bible at bedtime
and taught us how to pray.
You made sure we made it to church every Sunday.
And even though
we acted like we didn't hear a thing,
When I'm in church today,
I hear an old familiar ring.
I've learned alot through all these years,
through the good times and the bad.
I want you to know,
I thank God every night for you Dad.
I can't imagine
how it would be to live life day by day...
Not knowing God, not knowing love,
not knowing how to pray.
It would be so cold, so lonely,
so sad a life I know.
And it's all because of you, Dad.
God's love - we've been shown.
So Dad we want to thank you
on this very special day.
Because of you - we now know
the true meaning of Father's Day.
~By Terri Lewis~
DADS
Delightful and loving,
Loved and admired,
Dad, you're my hero,
My life you've inspired.
And when all my blessings
Are counted each day,
I thank God in heaven
For Dad when I pray.
Dad thanks for your presence
Throughout thick and thin;
You're more than a parent,
You're my wonderful friend.
~By Ken Brown~
WHAT MAKES A DAD
God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
~Author Unknown~
What Is A Dad?
A Dad is our first hero, role model, a strong shoulder to cry and lean on, someone to share a joke or a good time with, someone to confide in and a buddy. He's someone whom we can look up to and admire. Remember your dad on this Father's Day and reach out to and surprise a very special man. Strengthen the ties that unite and make his day extra memorable and wonderful with a heart-felt greeting. We've got special sentiments for your grandfather/ uncle/ step-dad/ first time dad/ someone like a dad or your friends (who are dads also)! Send Free Online Greeting Cards to your friends & loved ones. We're sure they'll really appreciate it. Every card is completely FREE!!!
Father's Day Quotes
A wise son maketh a glad father- Proverbs 10:1
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
-Ephesians 6:4
"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"
-Matthew 7:11
It is a wise child that knows his own father. -Homer
It is a wise father that knows his own child. -William Shakespeare
The longer I live the more convinced I become that God governs in the affairs of men. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance.-Benjamin Franklin
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.-Henry Ward Beecher
A man's desire for a son is usually nothing but the wish to duplicate himself in order that such a remarkable pattern may not be lost to the world. -Helen Rowland
"Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers--and fathering is a very important stage in their development."-David M. Gottesman
"A father is always making his baby into a little woman. And when she is a woman he turns her back again." -- Enid Bagnold
"It no longer bothers me that I may be constantly searching for father figures; by this time, I have found several and dearly enjoyed knowing them all." -- Alice Walker
"None of you can ever be proud enough of being the child of SUCH a Father who has not his equal in this world-so great, so good, so faultless. Try, all of you, to follow in his footsteps and don't be discouraged, for to be really in everything like him none of you, I am sure, will ever be. Try, therefore, to be like him in some points, and you will have acquired a great deal." -- Victoria, Queen of England
"That is the thankless position of the father in the family-the provider for all, and the enemy of all." -- J. August Strindberg
"It is a wise father that knows his own child." -- William Shakespeare
"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." -- Anne Sexton
"One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." -- English Proverb
"To be a successful father . . . there's one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don't look at it for the first two years." -- Ernest Hemingway
"A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father." -- Gabriel García Márquez
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection." -- Sigmund Freud
"I watched a small man with thick calluses on both hands work fifteen and sixteen hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all I needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example." -- Mario Cuomo
"Be kind to thy father, for when thou wert young,
Who loved thee so fondly as he?
He caught the first accents that fell from thy tongue,
And joined in thy innocent glee."
-- Margaret Courtney
"If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right." -- Bill Cosby
"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father!" -- Lydia M. Child
Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad.- Anonymous
A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season. Anonymous
It is much easier to become a father than to be one.- Kent Nerburn
