Discover the Top 13 Fun Facts About Father's Day: Surprising Origins, Traditions, and Celebrations!

1. Father's Day Chuckles

As dads joyously flip through pages of comic wit on their special day, secretly hoping their favorite dad joke made the cut: approximately 25% of all Father's Day card sales are said to be humorous, with Hallmark pioneering the chuckles since the Roaring '20s.
Source => corporate.hallmark.com

2. The Pioneer Dad Behind Father's Day

Before Maury Povich could declare "You ARE the father!", a humble man named William Jackson Smart took matters into his own hands: Father's Day exists today thanks to this single dad who stepped up and raised six children when his wife passed away, inspiring his daughter Sonora to advocate for the special day until it finally became an official US holiday in 1972.
Source => humanprogress.org

Did you know Labor Day's origin involved 10,000 off-duty workers and a glamorous parade in 1882? Discover the fascinating story behind this beloved holiday!

=> Fun Facts about Labor-Day

3. Worldwide Dad Celebrations

Fathers, unite! You have nothing to lose but your calendars: While 52 countries around the globe follow the U.S. in celebrating their paternal figures on the same day, there are some rebels in our midst who have their own unique dates to honor their dads. Germany strays 39 days from Easter, and if your daddy happens to be Russian, he'd better be ready for fatherly praises on February 23rd. Meanwhile, Egypt and Lebanon have formed their own alliance by dedicating June 21st to their dads, and the Dominican Republic keeps things fresh by choosing the last Sunday in July for their fiesta of fatherhood. That's a whole lot of dad-centric partying going on worldwide!
Source => thespruce.com

4. Sonora's Gift: The Origin of Father's Day

Before neckties and socks became the modern dad's burden, a woman named Sonora gave the ultimate gift to fathers everywhere: Father's Day actually traces its roots back to 1910 in Spokane, Washington, when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd organized the first celebration to honor her dad, William Smart – who, with his Civil War veteran title and six kids raised solo, could give superhero dads a run for their money. The real kicker is: It took Congress 46 years to officially recognize the holiday in 1956, and another 16 years until 1972 for it to become a permanent national observance on the third Sunday of June, now filling calendars worldwide with ample opportunities for dad jokes and paternal appreciation.
Source => phoenixflowershops.com

5. Congress Finally Recognizing Dads

Move over, dads – it took an act of Congress to get you some recognition! And no, we're not talking about getting the remote control on Sundays: Father's Day wasn't officially declared a national holiday in the United States until 1972, a whole six years after President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1966 proclamation. The law was finally signed by President Richard Nixon after multiple thwarted attempts in Congress to establish the holiday, dating all the way back to 1913. Talk about a long wait in the dad-joke-filled lobby!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. One Dad's Inspiring Story

Picture this: a single dad cultivating six little seeds of joy on the family farm, with only one blossoming into a lovely filly amidst a sea of muddy brothers – now that's a tale for Lifetime! Seriously, though: Father's Day owes its origin to Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, who established the holiday in 1910 to honor her widowed father – a farmer who managed the upbringing of his six children (including her) single-handedly in Spokane, Washington. Although it took six decades to attain national recognition, it eventually did so in 1972, and we haven’t missed an opportunity to thank dear ol’ dad since.
Source => encyclopediaofarkansas.net

7. Tribute to Brave Fathers

Before dads were showered with ties and BBQ aprons: The inaugural Father's Day shindig kicked off on July 5th, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia, as a heartfelt tribute to the brave fathers who perished in the Monongah Mining Disaster.
Source => nationaldaycalendar.com

8. The Rise of Single Father Households

Hold on to your dad pants and do the fatherly fist-pump: single father households in the United States have increased almost ninefold since 1960, jumping from less than 300,000 to over 2.6 million in 2011. They now make up 24% of single parent households and are more likely to cohabit with a partner than single mothers. So despite challenges like lower education and higher poverty rates, these solo superhero dads are soaring in the family skies!
Source => pewresearch.org

9. Father's Day: The Day of Collect Calls

Hold onto your pocket change and crack open that piggy bank – Father's Day is calling: It turns out, this proud paternal celebration holds the record for the most collect calls in the US and Canada, leaving mothers to bask in the glow of the highest number of regular phone calls on their special day.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

10. Grill-tastic Father's Day Sales

Grill-seeking dads, unite: The grill-father of all holidays has arrived – Father's Day is not just about showering our patriarchs with love, it's also prime time for barbecue blowouts and spectacular sales on grilling gear: From teeny-weeny tailgating contraptions to full-blown outdoor kitchen setups, Father's Day fuels the fire behind sizzling savings on all sorts of flame-taming apparatus.
Source => deals.usnews.com

11. The Rose: A Floral Connection

Roses are red, violets are blue, did you know some US states have an official flower too? Here's a thorny truth for you: the rose is not only the official flower of Georgia, Iowa, New York, and North Dakota, but it also holds the esteemed title of National Floral Emblem, designated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and has even graced the illustrious Rose Garden at the White House since 1913.
Source => prweb.com

12. Thailand's Royal Father's Day

Forget Hawaiian shirt day, in Thailand they celebrate dad bods with a royal twist: Father's Day is held on December 5th, coinciding with the birthday of their beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is regarded as the "Father of the Nation." As a nod to his majesty, everyone dons yellow (his birth color) and children present their fathers with the macho Canna flower as a token of appreciation.
Source => blogs.colgate.edu

13. Germany's Boozy Vatertag

Forget the Father's Day Hallmark cards and BBQs; in Germany, the celebration is more about booze and wheels: On Ascension Day, also known as Vatertag, German dads and their pals embark on hiking or biking adventures with Bollerwagen—a wooden, wheelbarrow-esque contraption—loaded with alcohol and food, turning the holiday into a "gentlemen's day," or Herrentag in some regions, overshadowing the religious aspects of the occasion.
Source => morethanbeerandschnitzel.com