The Mother of Father's Day

Today we are celebrating Father's Day in Australia.. lots of families enjoying the day out or  BBQs at home,  lots of presents like " Best Dad" coffee mugs, chocolates, socks and undies ... so how did all this begin? The first Father’s Day was reported  in Washington , USA on June 19, 1910. A woman  Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea of honouring and celebrating her father while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church in 1909. She felt as though mothers were getting all the acclaim while fathers were equally deserving of a day of praise.Sonora’s dad was quite a man. William Smart, a veteran of the Civil War, was left a widower when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child. He went on to raise the six children by himself on their small farm in Washington. To show her appreciation for all the hard work and love William gave to her and her siblings, Sonora thought there should be a day to pay homage to him and other dads like him. She initially suggested June 5th, the anniversary of her father’s death to be the designated day to celebrate Father’s Day, but due to some bad planning, the celebration in Spokane, Washington was deferred to the third Sunday in June. Here's a video about Father's Day 

 Since then other countries also picked up on the idea of Father’s Day. While many followed  by celebrating it on the third Sunday in June, some decided to make Father's Day a different date.  

Whatever time of the year,  hope fathers and father figures everywhere enjoy a special celebration with their families.  

• March 14– Iran
• March 19– Bolivia, Honduras, Italy, Lichtenstein, Portugal, Spain
• May 8– South Korea
• First Sunday in June– Lithuania
• Second Sunday in June– Austria, Ecuador, Belgium
• Third Sunday in June– Antigua, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Trinidad, Turkey, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
• June 17– El Salvador, Guatemala
• June 23– Nicaragua, Poland, Uganda
• Second Sunday in July– Uruguay
• Last Sunday in July– Dominican Republic
• Second Sunday in August– Brazil
• August 8– Taiwan, China
• August 24– Argentina
• First Sunday in September– Australia, New Zealand
• New Moon of September– Nepal
• First Sunday in October– Luxembourg
• Second Sunday in November– Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden
• December 5– Thailand