Father’s Day: History, significance and all about this special day

A father wrote to his daughter some 90 years back, from a prison cell, “Never do anything in secret or anything that you would wish to hide. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid, and fear is a bad thing and unworthy of you. Be brave, and all the rest follows…” The daughter went on to become the first and last (till date) woman prime minister of our country, the most celebrated one so far! We are talking about Indira Gandhi here.  

Well, today’s dad is no more the distant role model inspiring his children from an ivory tower. He is the tangible, palpable everyday hero, who’s always there for the family. He rushes back home from office to share the chores before putting Baby to sleep with a bedtime story, changes diapers with effortless ease, drives the family around on weekends, and is ever ready to take on the reins when Mommy needs a break. The shift of a father’s image from the breadwinner to a nurturer, a co-parent, is recent and a welcome change. As we celebrate Father’s Day today, observed on the third Sunday of June, here is all about this special day.  

Father’s Day celebration around the world 
Most countries celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. The aim is to acknowledge the unique role of a father in our lives. Some countries observe this day on different dates. For example, Spain and Portugal celebrate Father's Day on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph. While Father’s Day is observed in Taiwan on August 8, Thailand, dedicates December 5 to dads. This is the birthday of Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth monarch of Thailand from the Chakri dynasty. 

History of Father’s Day 
The concept of observing Father’s Day doesn’t have a happy origin. For the first time it was first marked after a tragic mining accident in the United States on July 5, 1908 that took the lives of when hundreds of men. Grace Golden Clayton, the daughter of a dedicated reverend was the first to  suggest a Sunday service in memory of everyone who died in the accident.   

A couple of years later in 1910, another woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, started observing Father's Day in honour of her father, a Civil War veteran. He had raised six children as a single parent. 

Observing Father's Day gained popularity several decades later in 1971 when President Richard Nixon signed declared it as an annual celebration on the third Sunday of June.