the united states is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. on the third sunday in june, fathers all across the united states are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special. .
the origin of father‘s day is not clear. some say that it began with a church service in west virginia in 1908. others say the first father‘s day ceremony was held in vancouver, washington.
regardless of when the first true father‘s day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was mrs. bruce john dodd of spokane, washington. she thought of the idea for father‘s day while listening to a mother‘s day sermon in 1909.
sonora wanted a special day to honor her father, william smart. smart, who was a civil war veteran, was widowed when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. mr. smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern washington state.
after sonora became an adult she realized the selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent. it was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. in 1909, mrs. dodd approached her own minister and others in spokane about having a church service dedicated to fathers on june 5, her father‘s birthday.
that date was too soon for her