Ask Mike: The Origin of Father’s Day
Hey Guys,
Father’s Day is this Sunday, and, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how the holiday got its start. I asked the good people of Yahoo! Answers and was treated to a variety of solid responses (many with links!).
Having answered a similar question on Mother’s Day a year ago, I was already aware of how that holiday came into existence. As it turns out, Father’s Day hasn’t been around for as long as its female counterpart, but its history is just as interesting.
Several community members pointed to an article posted by a Detroit church. The article explains that most people credit Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington with creating the holiday back in 1909. Ms. Smart Dodd was inspired by her father, a widower and Civil War veteran named William Jackson Smart.
After hearing a church sermon on Mother’s Day, Ms. Smart Dodd began her campaign to have all father’s recognized. The first local Father’s Day was held in 1910, but it wasn’t until 1924 that President Calvin Coolidge “made it a national event.” Then, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation “declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day.” The rest, as they say, is history.
One can’t help but find Ms. Smart Dodd’s story a bit inspiring. If you could start a national holiday to honor a person or group of people, who would you go for? Firefighters? Movie ushers? David Hasseloff? Please leave a comment below and let me know.
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We need a holiday for all the nice people at NORML, who work everyday to try and decriminalize/legalize the use of marijuana.
I dont speak for NORML, im just an average college student:
Stop thinking its against the law:
That law was made in 1937
It is our right to oppose laws we see as unjust,
the police will tell you otherwise, but the framers of the constitution are giving me thumbs up from their graves, I know it.
very well done
we need to honor people that work for us, such as housekeepers, bus drivers, mail people, cashiers, ect.
Its illegal because its bad for you.Bad doesnt even give the substance credit for the way it destroys lives, and families.It can ruin your life, if I a 14-year-old, “a vunerable teenage” can understand this then why can’t you? Its immature how someone in college can support something so destructive. Legalizing Marijuana would simply encourage using it, and increase the death count by drugs. Besides it the “gateway drug” from that to catch a bigger high you move on to other narcodics, and basically its a downward spiral.
So yea, NORML is the last organization that deserves a national holiday.
The framers of the constitution are NOT giving you “the thumbs up from their graves”, and I know that. Besides they are dead, and long gone. Their thumbs up aren’t going to do much for you. Not to meintion the framers of our constitution had no idea about Marijuana. And if they did, and were here now; Marijuana would not be legalized.
So if you just want to get high like an uneducated idiot. Go ahead. Stop trying to corrupt the rest of our nation further.
So yea, NORML is the last organization that deserves a national holiday.
Maybe something that helps the world? Like a red cross day, although there may already have one. Or something simple or random. But NORML is not a deserving organization.And thanks for the idiot reply, arguing it helped to release some anger =].
And i realize i repeated somethings. For emphasis just in case you’re too high too understand the first time. No need to thank me =]
If I were to start a Holiday it would be for all of the preachers and pasters out there for teaching the word of the Lord. They really need a Holiday lol
)
ill have to say, i agree with the comment by kenny brown……..u are so right on, but we need to get something done about the law, before we can have our special day. and that special day would have to be april 20, of course!
I’ve seen your name on the main box everyday since I joined up. I thought nothing of your space until this question. Just curiousity at its best.
Good information. Although inquisitive as I am, I never thought of asking a trivia question as the origin of a “Day”, specially if it does not commemorate something important such as events (Labor, Veterans, etc.) of which I can research myself. But after careful consideration, I think that you may have hit a very important spot too. Fathers, Mothers, Grandfathers and Grandmothers are also important. We wouldn’t be here if not for them.
Kudos. Nice question!
We need to properly recognize Care-Givers!
These empathetic dear souls are the glue that
holds the very fabric of society together. Many
terminally ill patients owe a special thanks to
these awesome people.
Hospice Organizations should also be recognized
for their profound kind impact on peoples lives.
National Internet Day W00T
Thank you! it is very interesting. I didn’t know about this holiday before..
As far as I know, cannabis sativa is used to treat glaucoma.
You are not higher or lower by using marijuana,
just you feel better if you have glaucoma.
…Uh…if we fill the calenders with honorary honories of honorable mention, or other mentionable things of honor…then what? Honor your father and your mother! Love your neighbor(fellow) as yourself! Love the GOD of host(your host) in “all” ways humanly possible that you may know LOVE! EVERYDAY IS SUCH A HOLIDAY! Be a “good neighbor”!
How about a national holiday for actors and actresses who make our lives so much more fulfilling by entertaining us? Also, when they endorse a presidential candidate, that’s sometimes more entertaining than their movies.
It should be in the summer, too, because that’s when most movies are recognized.
Well, if we decide to declare everything and everybody their own National Holiday – that will get ridiculous really fast. What we need to do is teach our children to honor people for the good things they do everyday of the week by behaving and saying Thank You and Please. The national holidays we have are good and if we decide to honor every people group, every worldwide holiday, every gender and creed – that’s way out of control. But everybody like it or not – has a mom and dad and that’s why I believe we have those days to celebrate them. It’s also important to celebrate the history of our nation through the holidays too.
If there is one more holiday to give out to people, then I trully believe that the most deserving people to earn their own holiday are the hard working asian americans in this country. They had been trully under the radar. Almost like they are not noticed in this county. To emphasize, asian americans had been really good in this country(in simple terms). Asian Americans had been very productive school wise, work wise, and is constantly helping out the economy of america(imagine the impact). You dont see alot of asians receiving foodstamps. They are trully hard working people and should received the respect they should get.
Okay first off, Kinny, you look like a fool. The founding fathers didn’t know about it? Are you insane? weed has been around since forever…as far back as the pyramids…Henry Ford designed his vehicles with ethanol in mind…he had a pot grove on his property!!!Then big oil stepped in…but thats a story for later…pot is not a gateway drug, and unlike alcohol, its never killed due to health reasons…how do you think most of europe and the rest of the world gets by with this legal ‘dangerous’ drug? Our prisons are full of people caught with a joint while gang bangers run free…don’t look so foolish, do research first…you only expose your own lack of knowledge…
what will i write?oh i like yahoo
I’d have to agree that to make ‘more’ holidays can spiral out of control. And I also agree that there are SO many who should be recognized and honored, and it’s up to us as individuals to do so without a national holiday icon on our calendars. In terms of the mary jane? Well, I’m a 38 year old mother of two, and while I can appreciate the 14 year old’s passion and convictions, I’d have to agree he is limited in facts. I have a 14 year old, and I hope he isn’t smoking this young, but that is a mother’s hope. However, my father smokes pot and always has, he’s well in to his 60’s and healthy as a OX! Just about everything in excess is destructive, even exercise! But moderation? meh, you have but one life to live, what brings you joy? If a little pot does, then I say toke away.
marijuana isn’t illegal because it’s “bad for you.” It’s illegal for other reasons. Otherwise alcohol and cigarettes would be illegal also. It’s shouldn’t be upo to govt to dictate what we can and can’t put into our bodies. If a person wants to do this to him or herself(whatever it happens to be), let them. I mean, honetsly, who are you to tell me what to do and who who am I to tell you what to do? Either way, this isn’t the right place to discuss this.
I agree completely with Julz, Kinny by exposing your ignorance you just make yourself look ridiculous.
Marijuana has been cultivated for it’s psychoactive properties for more than 2,000 years.
The only connection to death that marijuana has is when users do something stupid while the drug is in their system, which is true of alcohol as well. Not a single death has been attributed to purely using marijuana, which can’t be said for the legal substances alcohol or tobacco. Also no one has ever died of a marijuana overdose, as it would take 40,000 times as much marijuana to kill you as it does to get you high. Overdosing on alcohol, though, is relatively easy as it takes only somewhere between 4 and 10 times as much alcohol to kill you as it does to get you drunk.
As for marijuana being a gateway drug, Holland legalized the use of marijuana in the 1970’s. Since then the use of hard drugs- heroine and cocaine- has substantially decreased.
Perhaps you should research your subject before bashing someone for supporting the legalization of marijuana, instead of spewing out the “marijuana is deadly and dangerous” propoganda that you learned in middle school today.
In lieu of Dads’ Day…I would like to honor and/or say thanks to all of the Dads across this country who have indeed stepped up and if not been a Daddy…at least have been a Father and paid their child support. Makin babies is a pretty easy thing to do. It doesn’t take much besides your second basic instinct, and a hard Johnson. But to stand up after the orgasm, and realize that wow, I’ve made a responsibility, and does the right thing…he needs to be thanked. The second thing I’d like to honor and/or thank are those men across this same country that hung around their mother and father long enough to learn and understand and implement in their own lives the word “no”. There isn’t much more in this world that yanks my chain as a guy that forces himself on a girl against her will. So “clink” here’s to all you guys…fathers or not…that take care of business, and know when to not make somebody else your business. Thanks and Happy Sunday to all.
Individual Day. Remembering everybody because no matter how forgotten some may be, all individual plays a part in making this world moves.
The typical, traditional, normal family would consist of a decent Dad ( male ), a good Mom ( female ) and kids. Sometimes pets are added in too.
What about men who are supposed to be called Dads but are not ? Or men who are supposed to be carrying out the role of Dads but do not ? Some of the things in life that happen to men. Or nowadays, homosexual marriages which is not accepted by all.
Whatever it is, Fathers’ Day greetings to all who regard themselves fathers.
Whoe , Very very interesting! kinny quit it.. whoe completely out of line .The reasoning is fanatical
must be an inside boy? tell mom back off the leash and you`ll be ok ,I hope its just a phase or we got a super cop in the making…whoe! scary
P.s. finish collage before you talk like that you`ll see or you`ll never meet any one…
Like it or not reality changes as does every thing …
The only constant in the universe is after all…Change
KINNY I AGREE WITH YOU!!! Everyone is trying to say that you are wrong because you are 14. Well let me tell you something. I am 18 I graduated high school two years early and April 30th 2008 I finished my first full year (absolutely no breaks) of college! I support your answer 100% I didn’t think there were any more MATURE 14 year olds left in this world! I mean look at what the world is coming to. What you wrote sounds like something I would have wrote when I was 14 and NOW! Supporting Marijuana use lol that’s just crazy. The only thing I agree with is when doctors use Marijuana to help patients that have lupus and other terrible diseases. And if any of you didn’t already know that law has already been passed a long time ago. I agree with this to an extent. I believe the patient should be pretty bad off and use Marijuana as the last resort. If you do research you’ll all know that Marijuana causes cancer faster than cigarettes do! And people want to legalize it for teenagers to fry there brains even more. Teenagers are our future!!!! How sad to the ones that want to ruin our future by legalizing Marijuana that thought is just totally RIDICULOUS!
Kinny I absolutely agree with you 100%. I think marijuana and any other form of drugs is absolutely ridiculous and needs to STAY illegal. If pot becomes legalized, imagine the chaos that will be released on our country. As if it isn’t already bad enough.
Thank God I’m not the only teenager out there with any sense.
Kudos to kinny.
And… I think that… Friday should become a weekend day too. Not just sat and sunday. =]
I know it’s not technically a holiday, but still.
everything in the present has its always a past so you better believe in the celebration anyway it is in commemoratiom of all the superheroes of all persons who really care about
How about Single-Parent Day? To celebrate the incredible hard work done by all those dedicated parents who, through no fault of their own, have been left ‘holding the baby’ and have made their children their life’s work. Single parents get berated all the time – as if they had chosen to be single – but most of them do a fantastic job and never get any credit for it – ony blame when things go wrong.
How about Single-Parent Day? To celebrate the incredible hard work done by all those dedicated parents who, through no fault of their own, have been left ‘holding the baby’ and have made their children their life’s work. Single parents get berated all the time – as if they had chosen to be single – but most of them do a fantastic job and never get any credit for it – only blame when things go wrong.
The framers of the constitution are NOT giving you “the thumbs up from their graves”, and I know that. Besides they are dead, and long gone. Their thumbs up aren’t going to do much for you. Not to meintion the framers of our constitution had no idea about Marijuana. And if they did, and were here now; Marijuana would not be legalized
Funny!! Look it up they did grow HEMP but it was not for smoking. goof balls!
@ Kenny Brown: There is a day. It is April 20th (4/20)
@ Kinny: Your opinion is not fact. A fact is that you have anger issues. You should read your post and try to calm yourself before flaming like and ignorant child.
I think we need to fix the holidays we have before venturing to create new ones. Memorial Day, Labor Day, Christmas, Easter, Halloween… I’ll bet that most of you just do what your parents did on these days and you don’t even recognize the reason for the day itself.
For example, Labor day is a day that you should not work under any circumstances. There is an entire year to plan for this so it really shouldn’t be that difficult. Yet so many employers (excluding convenient stores, restaraunts, etc.) will still make their employees work that day even though it isn’t life or death.
Memorial Day… it means 4 day weekend to most (usually tack on an extra day to spend at the lake) when few others are mourning the loss of their loved ones who fell on foreign soil and visiting their graves.
Christmas and Easter are easy for most to figure out, but what about Halloween? Most of you think it means running through the neighborhood collecting candy from strangers as a kid and wearing scary costumes. Haha! How far from the truth!
But this is America so I guess we can be as retarded as we want to be, right? I mean, we voted Bush in the White House then balme everyone else for it.
We should create a Friends Day for all your best friends out there
Happy Father’s Day! I do not agree with the idea that a father is a person that impregnates a woman. A father is a role model, an example, a dignified man. A huge number of children do not have a dad living with them because they decided to leave them to find another wife. It is time to become more tolerant with our female partners. Women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Fathers need to be “machos” in taking care of their children and playing their true role.
I would have a day to honor pets. They add so much joy, loyalty, protection, amusement, companionship and love to our lives, never asking anything in return.
It wasn’t until 1972 when President Richard Nixon finally proclaimed it a national holiday.
My holiday will be a Chris Brown Day. Cause I Love Him so much. And His music is great
i will have to agree wiyh joe he’s right we don’t have a day
We should have children day! Mothers, fathers, and granparents get their days, so should we!
how about……Everyday should be a SEX holiday!
honoring armored guards who have to put up with people stareing them down when delivering money. and stupid comments from people asking why do they have to carry guns…
how come we don’t have Children’s Day????
Omg no more holidays, especially the “friends day” one because that is just added pressure on top of the already excessive consumer gift giving holidays
let’s just say halmark is living large and loving it
fathers should have a holiday just as much as a mother should. i think that kids should have a day too, other than their b-day.
Its a fake halmark holliday to make more profits for the marketing industries.
Still its a good an effective holiday that teaches us to respect the fathers of america
I always used to tell my parents that I think we should have a Childrens day, but their responce was always- ‘Everydays is childrens day!’
i love all these people are saying their should be childrens day….their is childrens day but not in the usa because he president is lame =[
but their are days like that in china korea ect
That’s awesome, I never would’ve thought.
I would make a free day where if you went to a store and you were like the 5 person in a line everybody behind you, including you wouldn’t have to pay for anything because you guys have had to wait longer.
I would also make a laughapalooza day where every stae, city, and anything else in north America would have local stand up comics.
I would also make a karaoke day where again every state and city, so on so fourth would have karaoke stands and let people choose there own songs and show off there skills, then have a sing-off where the DJ puts in a random karaoke CD and two people take turns singing whatever songs are on it, even if they don’t know it. It’s called suicide karaoke. Whoever won would get a check for a thousand dollars and a free prize like a flat screen TV or something.
email me at honeybee_tawnya@yahoo.com or
honeybee_tawnya@hotmail.com
Please don’t send me any junk though, I can’t afford a virus
Father’s Day and Mother’s day were already holidays observed by the Christian(Catholic Church) to honor mothers and fathers in their roles. The patroness of mother’s day was Mary,Christ’s mother and the patron saint of fathers was St.Joseph for his unselfish paternal role.
I suggest Immigrant Day,to honor all the people who work incredibly hard doing what most of us can’t or don’t want to do and also to remind everybody that we ,the U.S.,are essentially a nation of immigrants.
If this ever came to pass, I sincerely hope that Hallmark wouldn’t exploit it because I can’t imagine anything tackier than a Happy Immigrant’s Day card(except all the others in all the existing categories!!)
You’re wrong. The first observance of Father’s Day is believed to have been held on July 5, 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia, by Dr. Robert Webb of West Virginia at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South of Fairmont
Anyone who thinks weed is more dangerous than alcohol is extremely uninformed about the situation and likely takes their moral cues from arbitrary rules made by those in authority years ago due to an inability to think for themselves.
I think having a sexual responsibility day for everybody the first day of spring, a parental responsibility day the first day of fall, and a national child appreciation day midwinter or midsummer would be great. As for NORML, those ABnormal idiots need to be slapped into a 90-day drug addicts program and get psychotherapy and family therapy, too, if they think ingesting a toxic, permanently damaging and often fatal substance that causes the heart to go into fibrillation (quivering instead of beating – with resultant fatal heart attacks at young ages), destroys the ability to retain short-term memory, slows the person down so much that they lose all ambition while in their drugged up stupor, dropping out of school and being failures, and does the same thing to everybody captive in their households, including their children and their pets!
The worst scourge we have is this organization of abysmally stupid, ignorant and pathetically immature, sick, foolish, weaklings prattling on about how there’s nothing wrong with a killer drug! There’s no need for any more sorrows and destruction of lives and health by this gang of damned fools! DO NOT LISTEN TO THEIR STUPID LIES!
i LOVE all of Honeybee’s suggestions. Now there’s somebody with a great sense of humor and fun!
Hey Julz! You’re a da..ed fool! Stop spreading this junk around. Drug addicts ARE gangbangers, growing the stuff illegally, using guns to protect their profits, driving around with mobile meth labs, blowing up their homes and garages for a da..ed drug! I worked for a pair of drug addicts who ran a school for kids. They got their pharmacy degrees so they could get all the harmful drugs they wanted free. They cooked down so much narcotic cough medicine to stay high the state shut them down and yanked their licenses. Then the mother started shoplifting small bottles of liquor and cough medicine. She had a collection of hundreds of bottles on her back porch. They had a patch of weed in the woods. Their four daughters, all highly intelligent, tried to get away from the drug life their parents dragged them into, but the most promising one, who had wanted to go to college and learn French, ended up “gardening” the weed and living at home. Their drugged up dad ran the family van into a lake one high night, and died at 50 of a heart attack from ingesting too much weed at a typical hippie festival. Their mother was arrested for her crimes and force into rehabilitation, but she just went back to her usual ways. Their home was always a wreck, and none of their children got away from the drugs in their lives. They are all doing menial jobs for hardly any money, those that are employed. It is a terrible mess, a waste of talent and intelligence, and a tragedy all around. To HE double toothpicks with drugging of ANY kind! Pot is not a gateway drug all right – it is a gigantic tragedy all on its own! Worst of all, addicts like NORML fool innocent, naive young kids into thinking that it’s “cool” to drug themselves up and ruin so many other peoples’ lives before they have even grown up enough to think critically and JUST SAY NO to all that horrible nonsense! DON’T LISTEN TO ANYTHING NORMAL SAYS! There isn’t even a valid reason to drug for pain alleviation – the other effects of this dangerous and debilitating drug are too bad to excuse that idea, and there are PLENTY of alternatives for pain relief on the market! Drug addicts are just looking, as always for excuses to use their favorite way of destroying their own lives and bring the cost down and not have to clean up and live life with clear minds and healthy bodies! Worst of all, they drag so many others down into the gutter with them! I think all addicts should be sequestered and treated for as long as it takes for them to get clean and sober. And they should be followed up for life by having to submit random monthly drug tests and be counseled all their lives to keep them straight and clean, since they are not willing or able to do it for themselves. The psychological therapy they and their families need is a big part of the answer, but they are also a scourge on our society by being allowed to influence others into a horrible, awful way of life and imminent death!
i LOVE all of Honeybee’s suggestions. Now there’s somebody with a great sense of humor and fun!
Joe, your idea of friends day is a nice one, too. I tried to make every day children’s day when mine were growing up, but a special day just for them is so important – too many people just see them as a burden instead of enjoying their kids and spending time with them having a good time or working together to improve the family homestead.
I seriously miss my war hero dad, who flew 105 missions as a tail gunner for the Army Air Force until his plane was shot down behind enemy lines in France and he received a Purple Heart for his leg wounds after they scraped him up and flew him home. He was always around home – came home after work directly, worked in his shop making violins and repairing things hours after supper, sat with us and talked to us, worked all weekend improving our property outside and inside, and parked his shoes under his own wife’s bed every night. My parents had a very loving relationship while I was growing up, and we kids, though raised in a strict, no-nonsense manner, enjoyed meals on time, a clean home, clean and mended clothes to wear, both parents in the home, mom sitting on father’s lap with their arms around each other, and family games and family tv nights and picnic outings to the beach, and camping trips, and movies once in awhile. Life’s not perfect, but they did a lot of things right in theirs. I always respected my dad and he played with us as small children, told us about the stars, and took us fishing out on the lake. Most of all, he gave us the gift of his presence in our peaceful home. More dads should be like him! He unfailingly supported us all with his hard work and enterprise. He succeeded in all the important things in life. I was lucky to have him in my life until he was 82. I will miss him and Mom forever!
We also need a day to recognize the people who are incarcerated for the War on Drugs and the families they leave behind to struggle.
I’m with PhillyNORML myself and here in Philadelphia over 7,000 people are arrested for marijuana charges annually. These are all different types of people who see this as medicine, to a safer alternative to alcohol, to religion, to down right stupid to be illegal. They return to a disadvantaged life in the streets.
They need a day to be recognized!
The thought of a mothers day without a fathers day is unthinkable. To assume that mothers are the only parents that love care for and nurture their children on a hands on basis is obsurd. With millions of fulltime stay at home dads and millions more single dads raising their kids nearly single handed, the least society can do it start to recognize the equality and start to share the recognition. Time to grow up and mature to a society that practices gender equality.
The courts are just starting to wake up to this fact, with the exception of some hardcore female judges who practice gender bias, the courts are starting to recognize that the child is not the property of the mother but both parents who created this wonder of life.
Thank You
I wish I had a relationship with my Dad.
Anyone just hanging out with their dad having a good time today, is lucky. Enjoy it.
Anyone who has reviewed even a few of the twenty-odd major English-language studies on drug policy realises that our present prohibition policies are inconsistent with available evidence and scholarly analysis. Without exception, all of these studies conclude that the use of cannabis and other illegal drugs is not intrinsically very harmful, and that punitive and law-enforcement approaches to adult drug use should be abandoned.
Moreover, these studies, which represent many years of careful analysis and research by distinguished scholarly bodies, have refuted virtually all of the charges commonly made (still) by those who advocate prohibition policies, including the myths that cannabis is addictive, leads to harder drugs, causes schizophrenia, and destroys brain cells.
Many citations from the works could be offered, but the clarity of the evidence showing the relative safety of adult cannabis use is perhaps best reflected by recent editorials in the British Medical Journal and the Lancet, both of which called for the legalisation of cannabis. The lead sentence in the Lancet was succinct: “The smoking of cannabis, even long term, is not harmful to health.”
The problem here is not simply that politicians have ignored reports from commissions that they themselves have set up. That kind of thing happens all the time.
What is noteworthy, rather, is the positive disdain and hostility evinced toward scholarly work on drug policy. U.S. President Richard Nixon set the tone in his response to the report prepared by his own National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, which he had carefully stacked with conservatives and prohibitionists. After studying the evidence from all angles for two years, the Commission concluded (almost inevitably, it would seem) that cannabis is relatively harmless and ought to be legalised.
Nixon’s dismissal of the Commission’s report was brisk: “I read it and reading it did not change my mind.” As recounted by former Wall Street Journal reporter Dan Baum in his new book Smoke and Mirrors, Nixon offered no reason for his decision. None of the big newsweeklies reported on the commission’s findings. After years of emotional back and forth about the medical, legal, and social implications of the boom in marijuana use, a commission of Nixon’s own choosing recommended legalization, and the press let Nixon bury the story.
An immigrant’s day.. Ellis Island day.. or something.. along those lines..
i live in fairmont wv which claims to have been the first town/ city to celebrate fathers day