Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and father figures to complement Mother's Day in celebrating parenting. It is usually celebrated in the US on the third Sunday of June, though the officially recognized dates vary from country to country.
The first observance of father’s day took place in Fairmont, West Virginia on July 5, 1908, organized by Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton. She had been mourning the loss of her father and wanted to honor the lives of fathers who had been lost in a mining disaster during the same time in Monongah, West Virginia.
Unfortunately since West Virginia did not officially register the holiday the first recognized celebration was held two years later on June 19, 1910, through the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd from Spokane, Washington to complement the newly recognized Mother’s Day. She was raised by a widower, one of six children and went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials in support of her idea, and she was finally successful.
Slowly, the holiday spread and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring that the third Sunday of June 1966 was Father's Day. However, it was not until 1972 when President Richard Nixon established a nationwide holiday in the United States celebrating Father's Day.
Now that you know the history of Father's Day, make sure you make the most of the day, and celebrate with your Dad. If you're looking for some fantastic gifts for your Dad, don't forget to check out our WaveSound 2 headphones and the SoundBox 10 portable Bluetooth speaker.
