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Holidays and Observances - How Old Is Fathers' Day?

How old is Fathers' Day?

About the same time that Anna Jarvis (1864–1948) was campaigning to make Mother's Day a holiday, Sonora Louis Dodd of Spokane, Washington, suggested that fathers should be honored by a special day. Since she and her five brothers and sisters had been raised by their father, a widower, Dodd was particularly aware of a father's role in the family. Spokane residents observed the first Father's Day on June 19, 1910, but it did not become popular until a decade later. Unlike Mother's Day, which is celebrated in many countries, Father's Day is almost a uniquely American holiday. People in the United States and Canada celebrate Father's Day on the third Sunday in June.

Further Information: Nielsen, Shelly. Celebrating Father's Day. Edina, Minn.: Abdo & Daughters; Minneapolis, Minn.: Distributed by Rockbottom Books, 1996.

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