History of Father’s Day | Interflora Australia

Father’s Day in Australia falls on September 3rd this year, and while we’ve been thinking about food to serve, dad jokes to tell, the perfect gift to buy, and our favourite movie and tv dads, we also became curious as to how Father’s Day got started.

It wasn’t always a day dedicated to brightly coloured socks and quirky ties; in Catholic Europe, Father’s Day has reportedly been observed since at least the Middle Ages.

Some countries, such as Spain, still celebrate on March 19, which is linked to honouring Saint Joseph.

Although Father’s Day has been recognised in one form or another for thousands of years, the Father’s Day we know today started not that long ago.

The history of the secular version of Father’s Day suggests that it originated in West Virginia in 1908. Grace Golden Clayton proposed to the pastor of her local church that they hold a service to commemorate 361 men (250 of them fathers) killed in a mine explosion.

However, Father’s Day was more formally established in Washington in 1910. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd was listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church when she decided that there should also be a day to honour fathers. She organised this with her local church and attempted to promote the day in the wider community.

Although many smaller communities held ceremonies to celebrate the work of fathers, the recognition of Father’s day as an official day wasn’t smooth sailing.

It wasn’t until 1966 that Lyndon B. Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate Father’s Day. In 1972, Father’s Day was officially made a national holiday by President Richard Nixon.

Other countries began to celebrate Father’s Day around the world with many following the U.S. by honouring dads on the third Sunday in June, whilst a few others decided on different official days to fit in with their existing holidays and customs.

It has been suggested that Pacific countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji may have heard about Father’s Day being celebrated in the U.S. and rather than waiting a year to celebrate it, placed it into the calendar in a similar season.

In China, Father’s Day used to be celebrated on the 8th of August, as eight in Mandarin Chinese is “ba” and a colloquial word for father is “ba-ba” – so the eighth day of the eighth month sounds similar to “daddy”. The day has since been moved to the third Sunday of June.

In Thailand, Father’s Day was set on December 5, the birthday of the late King Rama IX. Traditionally, Thai people would celebrate by giving their father or grandfather a canna flower, considered to be a masculine flower.

In Germany, it is called Vatertag (Father’s Day) but is also sometimes known as Männertag (or men’s day).

In certain regions of Germany it is traditional for groups of men to hike into the woods with a wagon of beer, wine, and meats.

The date of Father’s Day varies greatly across the globe. Here are some of the most significant dates observed…

March

14th – Iran

19th – Bolivia, Croatia, Honduras, Italy, Portugal, Spain

May

8th – South Korea

Third Sunday – Tonga

June

First Sunday – Lithuania, Switzerland

Second Sunday – Austria, Belgium

Third Sunday – Albania, Antigua, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe