Fun Facts about Father’s Day!

With Father’s Day coming up this weekend, we thought we’d share some fun facts with you about Father’s Day:

1. The first Father’s Day happened on June 17, 1910.

2. It took place after a successful campaign by Sonora Dodd to recognize the role of male parents with a celebration similar to Mother’s Day.

3. Sonora Dodd’s inspiration was her own father who successfully raised six kids alone after his wife died in childbirth.

4. A June date was chosen because this was when Sonora Dodd’s father, William Smart, was born.

5. While the holiday started to spread, many men thought that celebrating Father’s Day with flowers and gifts was too commercial and not manly enough.

6. In the 1920s and 1930s, some people campaigned to scrap both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and just have Parents’ Day – that never caught on.

7. Father’s Day because more popular during World War II, when the day was used to honor troops serving in the war.

8. The observance became an official national holiday in 1972. By this time Mother’s Day had already been a holiday for 58 years. 

9. While Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in many countries, this is not a universal date.

10. Americans spend over $1 billion annually on Father’s Day presents.

11. According to the census, there are more than 70 million fathers in America; in 2011, an estimated 1.7 million were single fathers.

12. Common Father’s Day gifts include ties and flowers, but cards are the most popular gift.

13. According to Hallmark, Father’s Day is the fifth biggest card giving occasion in the world.

14. The rose is the official flower of Father’s Day. The color changes depending on whether Dad is living (red) or not (white).