the unauthorized history of fathers day
Father’s day, it’s not too late for that one-of-a-kind gift.
Before we pop over to BargainBrute, recently voted America’s favorite place to shop online, and find that one-of-a-kind gift for the Dad in your life, let’s take a look at where and when this bespoke day originated.
History tells us that Father’s Day is held to celebrate the influence which fathers have on society along with, of course, the sacrament of fatherhood and the paternal bonds fatherhood generates.
History also indicates that the annual celebration was first held in 1907 following a memorial service held to honor the men who died in a horrific mining accident in Monongah, West Virginia.
The celebration first proposed by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington, had humble beginnings. However, today it has become the retail markets’ second Christmas for all men’s gift-oriented industries.
Today it is has become an annual celebration, celebrated on the third Sunday of June.
The above is just one of a few apparent historical versions of Father’s days that is said to have been created. However, before we get into other versions of how this hallowed celebration started, let’s take a look at some of the Father’s Day gifts and bargains you can find over at America’s favorite family-run online retailer. All ready to be shipped directly to your door for the man in your life.
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Ok back to our look at the origins of Fathers Day.
Another popular version of Father’s Day’s origins comes from Spokane, Washington, where a young lady named Sonora Smart Dodd from Arkansas was staying at the local YMCA on June 19, 1910.
Her father, William Jackson Smart, a civil war veteran and a single parent, raised his six kids as best he could with limited resources.
The story goes on that Sonora had just listened intently to a local preacher’s sermon about a lady named Anna Jarvis who had just celebrated Mother’s Day at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church in 1909.
So intrigued with the sermon, she told the pastor that fathers should have their special day.
Initially, she indicated that the celebration should be an annual event and held on June 5, her father’s birthday. However, as the pastor’s time was minimal, he did not have any time to prepare a sermon on the subject, so the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June, and the rest is history.
Initially, the newfound celebration received poor support. As Dodd was attending the Art Institute of Chicago, she had little time to help in the event’s organization, causing the event to fade into obscurity.
However, once Dodd had completed her studies, she returned to the town of Spokane in 1930. She began promoting the event at a national level, even managing to recruit companies who would benefit the most. (tobacco, pipe makers, men’s apparel manufacturers, etc.)
All seemed rosy, and the event, at last, started to receive attention at the national level. However, the attention her special day received was not all as it should have been. Americans dismissed the event as a ploy to copy the long-standing Mother’s Day celebration’s commercial success. Furthermore, it was often the target of many sarcastic and cynical attacks by the national media.
However, she would work on even enlisting the help of President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 to come to her town of Spokane.
The president did not disappoint and addressed the crowds gathered in the small auditorium as to the event’s wonders. Alas, however, it made no difference. Congress resisted fearing that the day would become too commercialized, and unfortunately, once again, the day fell into obscurity.
It would take another three Presidents, Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, and Richard Nixon in 1972, plus a Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith in 1957 before the annual celebration we now know as Father’s Day to become a national day of celebration to be held every year on the third week of June.
A full six years after President Johnson made his proclamation President Richard Nixon in 1972 signed the holiday into law. At last, all fathers, just like mothers, had their national day.
Authors note: A little later, another national holiday was created in many countries worldwide, International Men’s Day, celebrated for all men and boys who have not as yet become fathers.
Yes, it was a long journey to get Father’s Day celebrated, so let’s not forget it, and let’s spare a thought for that elderly single father. So many years ago, like many other veterans of today, he took up the fight during the American civil war to make this country of ours, once again, a land fit for all, no matter of creed, color, or ethnic persuasion.
So on behalf of the Vandergraph family and every employee at Bargainbrute.com, together we “Thank you for shopping with us today.”
