Father's Day Began from a Daughter's Admiration for her Father
A single dad's devotion to his six children was the inspiration for this day honoring the role of a father.
Skeptics occasionally complain that some holidays' origins must be part of a marketing conspiracy by the greeting card companies. However, upon looking into the beginnings of Father's Day, I was happy to find that the holiday is routed in a daughter's desire to publicly honor her father, and his important role in his family.
According to several sources which agree, the idea to set aside a day solely to celebrate dads began in the heart of Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, of Spokane, Washington. (Photo: Inspirationline.com)
Sonora was the only daughter—with 5 brothers—of William Jackson Smart, a Civil War Veteran. Her mother had died giving birth to her last brother, and Sonora shared the task of helping her father raise his children as a single parent.
As the story goes, Sonora had heard a Mother's Day message, and wondered why there was no special day to honor fathers. She reportedly embarked on an ardent lobbying campaign to institute a Father's Day holiday.
According to sources, the first official Father's Day in Spokane happened on June 19th, 1910, with the help of the local YMCA and the Spokane Ministerial Association.
The special day caught on and in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the third Sunday of June as Father's Day. Then, in 1972, President Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the 3rd Sunday of June each year.
