Father’s Day – What’s it all about?
Also watch an inspirational video of a father and son.
Although it is not declared an official holiday on the calendar, Father’s Day is a very special day.
It is there to recognise the contributions that father figures have made in the lives of their children.
Just like most countries in the world, South Africa celebrates Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June but, this does vary from country to country. South Africans will therefore celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, 18 June. But ever wandered why? Where did it all start?
Although there is mention that Father’s Day originated thousands of year’s ago, the idea to honor fatherhood was introduced from the United States.
According to history.com, “On July 5, 1908, a West Virginia church sponsored the nation’s first event explicitly in honor of fathers, a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah, but it was a one-time commemoration and not an annual holiday.
“The next year, a Spokane,Washington woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on July 19, 1910. Slowly, the holiday spread.”
WATCH: Inspirational video of a father and son below:
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