Jody Victor : It would be interesting to know how Father's Day came into practice and celebrated worldwide with and equal sincerity and respect as any other significant holiday. Here's a short history on the holiday, and meaning of the different colors of roses to be worn that day.
About 4,000 years ago a young boy named Elmesu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life by carving a Father's Day message on a card made out of clay. No one knows what happened to Elmesu or his father, but the tradition of having a special day honoring fathers has continued through the years in countries across the world.
The countries where the Catholic church were of significant influence on the culture of the society, Father's Day is celebrated on St. Joseph's Day (March 19). However, a more secular celebration which is not associated with any religion is followed in recent times to highlight the increased diversity among people from all over the globe coexisting together in one place.
Father's Day is celebrated popularly on the 3rd Sunday in June in many parts of the world. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June Father's Day. President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father. Roses are the Father's Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.
Today, Father's Day is a day of commemoration and celebration of Dad - the special man in our life. We often forget the sacrifice of our fathers and the roles they have played in shaping our lives. Father's Day gives us the opportunity to show and express our love and care to this man who deserves our support most. Father's Day is the most appropriate time to make us look beyond 'our own' family and honor the men who brought us joy and happiness. Father's Day is a time to honor not only your father, but all men who have acted as a father figure in your life - whether as stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, or "Big Brothers."
The word 'Father' is often used to honor spiritual leaders, inventors and originators of an idea, product, service or person. Fathers have always been associated with guidance and protection as the person who can be loved, respected and looked up to. On Father's Day let these men know what place they have in our lives and what influence they have on us. Make this Sunday, June 21st, the best Father's Day ever!