When is Father’s Day and why is it celebrated?

The date of Father’s day it does not vary and always occupies the same day in the calendar. Even so, there are those who do not remember it from one year to the next, since with so many dates marked, it is sometimes impossible to remember all of them. What’s more, It is not celebrated on the same day in all countries. and that can lead to confusion.

In Spain, Father’s Day is celebrated this Saturday March 19, because by Christian tradition it coincides with the saint’s day to Saint Joseph, the father of Jesus. In other places influenced by the United States, this tribute to the father figure takes place on the third Sunday in June.

Although Spain celebrates this day since the 20th century, this event did not originate here and it has nothing to do with Christianity or religion. Father’s Day was born in 1910 in the US. when Sonora Smart wanted to honor her father. This is how the book explains it. Consumer Etiquette: Buying and Selling at American Holidays (1995) by Leigh Eric Schmidt.

Over the years, the commemoration grew in popularity and ended spreading all over the world.

When is Father’s Day in Spain and in the rest of the world?

This Saturday, March 19, Spain celebrates Father’s Day and, in addition to spending time with the family, this day is perfect to express our feelings and remind parents how much they mean to us.

But, When is Father’s Day celebrated in other countries? As we have mentioned before, although the tradition originated in the United States, it spread throughout the world. These are the dates indicated by Father’s Day in Spain and other countries:

• 23 of February: Russia
• March, 19: Spain, Morocco, Andorra, Bolivia, Croatia, Honduras, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mozambique and Portugal.
• May 8: South Korea and Romania
• may 13th: Germany
• 15 th of May: Tonga
• 5th June: Switzerland, Lithuania and Denmark
• June 12: Austria, Belgium
• June 17: El Salvador, Guatemala
• 19th of June: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, United States, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda , Burma, Brunei, Canada, Cambodia, China, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Egypt, Slovakia, Ethiopia, Philippines, France, Ghana, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan , Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macao, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Netherlands, Palestine, Pakistan, Qatar, United Kingdom, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Syria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
• June 21: Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria and Uganda
• June 23: Nicaragua, Poland
• June 26th: Haiti
• July 10th: Uruguay, Argentina
• July 31st: Dominican Republic
• August 8: Taiwan
• August 14: Brazil and Samoa
• 4th of September: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
• 11 of September: latvia
• October 2nd: Luxembourg
• November 13: Estonia, Finland, Indonesia, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
• 12th of November: Indonesia
• December 5th: Thailand
• December 26: Bulgaria

Origin of Father’s Day

To understand where Father’s Day comes from, you have to travel to 20th century in the United States. Specifically at the time when Sonora Smart Dodd she decided to honor her father, a Civil War soldier who took care of her and her five siblings after her mother died. On 1910Smart Dodd made various celebrations in Spokane (Washington) in order to formalize the holiday.

Since then, he worked hard so that Father’s Day would take place in June, the same month as his father’s birthday. Even so, the idea was not considered until the president Calvin Coolidge gave him his approval 1924.

42 years later, in 1966was signed document declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day in the United States, thanks to the fact that President lyndon johnson would support the idea. However, it was not official until 1971when Richard Nixon signed the official proclamation.

Father’s Day in Spain

In Spain it is known Manuela Vicente Ferrero as the “inventor” of Father’s Day. On 1948this teacher from Zamora wanted celebrate father’s day so that her students “spoke more intensely about her affection, remembering her sacrifices”. She herself confessed it in El Correo de Zamora on March 19, 1965.

Vicente Ferrero wanted formalize this event And because of that, promoted the idea in the magazine ‘El Magisterio Español’where he told how they lived that day at school.

As can be seen in a ABC article from March 13, 1953this idea was reinforced after a press and radio campaign from the director of Galerías Preciados, Jose Fernandez Rodriguez.

From then on, the idea of ​​the teacher became something commercialsomething that even the “inventor” herself critical in El Correo de Zamora: “From then on all the commercial houses, which saw their income increase because of the gifts given to the father, have continued to promote it”.