The Little-Known History of Father's Day

Fathers Day is a time to show appreciation for the men who raised us, but did you know the holiday was invented by a woman who had a special relationship with her dad?
 
Sonora Dodd lived in Spokane, Washington during the early 20th century. Her mother died in childbirth when Sonora was a teenager, so her father raised her and her five brothers on his own.
 
In 1909, Sonora sat in church as her pastor preached a sermon on the importance of Mother’s Day. Remembering her father’s dedication, she decided her town needed a day to honor fathers, as well.
 
This began a five-decade-long campaign to make Father’s Day a nationally recognized holiday. Although her first petition in favor of Father’s Day gained only two signatures, she spent years traveling the country raising support for the concept.
 
On the first-ever Father’s Day in Spokane, townspeople wore roses to honor their dads – a red flower if your father was still living, a white flower if he had passed away. As soon as 1916, Sonora’s efforts brought President Woodrow Wilson to Spokane to endorse Father’s Day and join in the town’s celebration.
 
However, it wasn’t until 1957 that Senator Margaret Chase Smith introduced a bill establishing Father’s Day as a federal holiday, insisting that to have a day honoring mothers but not fathers was insulting to both. Almost 10 years later, President Lyndon Johnson declared the third Sunday in June an annual Father’s Day celebration. Finally, in 1972, President Richard Nixon made the day an official federal holiday.
 
Today, Sonora Dodd’s gravestone reads, “Founder of Father’s Day,” recognizing her love for her father and her commitment to the holiday honoring men’s contributions to their families.
 
Father’s Day Today
 
This year, 76 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Father’s Day. We’ll spend a record $16 billion on presents and outings for our dads, with most gift-givers looking for something that is unique to their fathers’ interests or commemorative of a special shared experience. 
 
Holidays are an excellent time to share statistics with your children and talk about concepts like percentages, demographics, surveys, and research. Here are some Father’s Day statistics to discuss as a family:

• About 60 percent of men are fathers
• About 25 percent of men are grandfathers
• About 61 percent of fathers have their first child between the ages of 20 and 29
• About 32 percent of married fathers are primary caregivers for their children
• The number of stay-at-home dads has doubled over the past 10 years and is now about 1.5 million

 
Fun with Fathers during the Summer
 
The summer months, when students are home from school, is a great chance for fathers to spend extra quality time with their children. That, combined with the huge importance of summer learning, is incentive to plan fun, educational outings for dads and kids.
 
Fatherhood.gov provides a helpful list of activities that promote learning during the summer while creating opportunities for dads and kids to make memories. Here’s what they suggest:

• Visit an art, science or history museum: Museums don’t have to be large or pricey – many towns sponsor local museums dedicated to the area’s history.)
• Read together: Reading may be part of your bedtime routine, but you can always read during downtime in the car, at the pool, or even the dentist’s office.
• Spend time outside: Talk about the plants, animals and people you see. Later, you can even write about them together.
• Explore community offerings: From libraries to zoos, your community likely offers low-cost resources that are fun and educational.

 
iLearn Academy wishes a happy Father’s Day to all the fathers in our lives. For more creative ideas on summer learning, check out our guide on how to make any family vacation educational.