An Ode to Dad - A Father's Day History

For many of us, the third Sunday in June might just be another day on the calendar.  A day to catch up on chores, perhaps watch a ball game on the couch.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a national holiday created over a century ago.

Father’s Day takes somewhat of a backseat to the more popular (and more commercialized) Mother’s Day in the United States.  Created due the popularity of the day for mothers, Father’s Day nearly seems like a quick pat on the back more than a celebration.  But then again, athletes and celebrities do tend to leave out the old man in their acceptance speeches and interviews, mothers being the highly touted “thank you” receivers.

Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd had the right idea, when she arranged a tribute for her father in 1910, after listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in Spokane Washington.  Dodd is believed to be the first to solicit such a celebration proposal.  It was a proposal that was met with criticism and ridicule, however, and almost did not see the light of day.  The holiday was mocked and many compared it to “Grandparent’s Day”, or even “National Clean Your Desk Day”.  At one point, the joking went as far as declaring the dandelion the Father’s Day flower, as you “the more you trample on them, the more they grow”.  The criticism stemmed from Mother’s Day type gifts for flowers, trinkets and cards being given to men, who generally were embarrassed by the thought.  Even the necktie started to lose its luster in the fashion world, having become the token Dad’s Day souvenir.  Thankfully, technology has given way to a more testosterone friendly gift giving exchange.  Nothing says “thanks for making me mown the lawn when all the other kids were riding their bikes” quite like an iPod, digital camera, the Doobie Brothers on BluRay.

The Associated Men’s Wear Retailers would have none of the mocking of this holiday and in the 1930s formed a National Father’s Day Committee in New York.  Their goal of legitimizing the holiday was helped by the passing of a bill in 1913 and Calvin Coolidge supporting the idea a decade later.  In modern times, Mother’s Day spending trumps Father’s Day by nearly $7 billion, leaving pops with a token of your appreciation at around $27.

Perhaps the Germans have it right.  There are two terms and/or events of an older origin that while similar in name, have entirely different meanings. Vatertag, is always celebrated on Ascension Day (the Thursday forty days after Easter), which is a federal holiday. Regionally, it is also called men's day, Männertag, or gentlemen's day, Herrentag. It is tradition to do a males-only hiking tour with one or more smaller wagons, pulled by manpower. In the wagons are wine or beer and traditional regional food, such as Liverwurst, Blutwurst (Blood Sausage), vegetables, eggs, etc. Many men will use this holiday to get very drunk, to the point of having gangs of drunk people roaming the streets, causing much embarrassment to the German people who don't participate, and giving the holiday a very bad name in Germany.  Police and emergency services are in high alert during the day, and some left-wing and feminist groups have asked for the banning of the holiday. Some parts of Germany (such as Bavaria and the northern part of Germany) call this particular day "Vatertag", which is the literal equivalent to Father's Day.

This Father’s Day, record your own speech thanking the old man, buy him anything but a tie, and fire up your lawn mower and chop down that crab grass in your front lawn for old time sake.