Skip to main content

Father's Day

Josephus Laurentius Dyckmans - Paternal Advice

Father's Day is a holiday honouring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. The holiday complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in some countries, Siblings Day, and Grandparents' Day. The day is held on various dates across the world, and different regions maintain their own traditions of honouring fatherhood.

In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United States, Father's Day was founded in the state of Washington by Sonora Smart Dodd in 1910. Father's Day is a recognized public holiday in Lithuania and some parts of Spain and was regarded as such in Italy until 1977. It is a national holiday in Estonia, Samoa, and equivalently in South Korea, where it is celebrated as Parents' Day. Sikhs celebrate Father's Day on 29 December, the birthday of Guru Gobind Singh.

For centuries, the Eastern Orthodox Church has appointed the second Sunday before Nativity as the Sunday of the Forefathers to commemorate the ancestors of Christ according to the flesh, starting with Adam and emphasizing the patriarch Abraham, to whom God said,

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed —  Genesis 12:3, 22:18

This feast can fall between 11 and 17 December. This feast includes the ancestors of Mary, the mother of Jesus and various prophets.

A customary day for the celebration of fatherhood in Catholic Europe is known to date back to at least 1508. It is usually celebrated on 19 March, as the feast day of Saint Joseph, who is referred to as the fatherly Nutritor Domini ("Nourisher of the Lord") in Catholicism and "the putative father of Jesus" in southern European tradition. This celebration was brought to the Americas by the Spanish and Portuguese. The Catholic Church actively supported the custom of a celebration of fatherhood on St. Joseph's Day from either the last years of the 14th century or the early 15th century, apparently on the initiative of the Franciscans.

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the celebration of fatherhood is also observed on St Joseph's Day, but the Copts observe this on 20 July. The Coptic celebration may date back to the fifth century.

In the United States, whether to celebrate this day nationwide or not is a matter for debate. In 1908, Grace Golden Clayton proposed the day to honour those men who had died in a mining accident in the US. Though it was not accepted then, in 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd, who along with her five brothers was raised by her father alone, after attending Mother's Day in a church, convinced the Spokane Ministerial Association to celebrate Father's Day nationwide.

In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on 19 November in honour of both men and boys.

Father's Day is not an original custom of India but is rather followed by the influence of the Western world. It is observed on the third Sunday of June. This event is not a public holiday. The day is usually celebrated only in larger cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow and others. It is a huge holiday in the North Eastern state of Nagaland and Kerala where prayers are held in church on Sunday Services. After this day was first observed in the United States in 1908 and gradually gained popularity, Indian metropolitan cities, much later, followed suit by recognising this event. In India, the day is usually celebrated with children giving gifts such as greeting cards, electronic gadgets, shirts, gold necklaces, coffee mugs or books to their fathers.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dynamic Bats

Bats look like a small brown mouse. They have a fox like muzzle large ears and a neck, which is short and well covered with fur. They are flying mammals. They can fly but they are not birds. They do not have feathers on their wings like birds Instead, they have double layers of skin stretched over their bones There are nearly a thousand different kinds of bats which vary in size. The largest bat has been recorded as having a wing span of over 150 cm. But most bats are small creatures with rather large wings. A vampire bat's body is only about 9 cm long with a wing span of up to 18 cm. Most bats are nocturnal creatures, which means that they are active only at night. They sleep during the day and come out at night in search of food Bats hang upside down by their fret when they rest or sleep. They often live in caves where there may be thousands of them crowded together on the walls and ceiling. Smaller bat colonies of up to twelve bats may live together inside a hollow cave. The...

World Asteroid Day

What Is International Asteroid Day? International Asteroid Day is a global event dedicated to educating the public about asteroids, their impact on Earth, and the ways we can protect our planet from potential asteroid threats. It serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance and scientific advancement in monitoring the skies.   Why Is June 30 an Asteroid Day? June 30th was chosen to mark International Asteroid Day because it commemorates the Tunguska event, the most significant asteroid impact in recent history, which devastated over 2,000 square kilometers of forest in Siberia on this day in 1908. On this day in 1908, a massive explosion occurred in Siberia, believed to be caused by an asteroid or comet exploding in the atmosphere. This event released the energy equivalent of up to 15 million tons of TNT, flattening around 2,000 square kilometers of forest and knocking down 80 million trees. Despite occurring in a remote area, the explosion had global atmospheric eff...

Lazarus, Come Out!

Heroes in the Bible:  Lazarus, Come Out! Scripture Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? John 11:25 Have you ever wondered why God’s timing feels so different from ours? When Jesus learned that Lazarus was sick, He didn’t rush to his side. Instead, He waited two days before going to Bethany, where Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Why would Jesus delay when His friend was in such desperate need? Jesus’ response reminds us that God’s plans are always purposeful. “This sickness,” He said, “is not unto death, but for the glory of God.” What situations in your life feel delayed, but may be an opportunity for God’s glory to shine? When Jesus arrived, Martha expressed her faith, saying, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus answered her with one of the most profound declarati...