Father's Day is a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.
Now 72 countries set aside a day each year to recognize fathers. In addition to the United States there are 36 other countries that celebrate Father's Day on the third Sunday in June.
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.
In West Virginia the Fairmont church, however, has the satisfaction of knowing that on July 5, 1908, a worship service was the first true observance. In fact, in 1985, the state of West Virginia erected a black and white historical marker declaring Fairmont the birthplace of Father's Day.
The president of the Chicago branch of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated the first Father's Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest date to Meek's own birthday.
Regardless of when the first true Father's Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother.
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. The chosen date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their fathers if they lived apart.
States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father's Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to "establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations." Since then, fathers had been honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.
"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." -- Anne Sexton an American poet and writer.
Cooking and grilling are always thoughtful ways of showing appreciation. We have listed here a couple of collections with carefully selected recipes for this special occasion.
We hope that you find one or two that appeal to you. From all of us here at GroceryGuide a special "Thank you" to all fathers.
Father's Day Recipes:
All Recipes.com
RecipeZaar.com
FamilyFun.com
About.com
