Father's Day - Where Did It Come From?

Sonora Smart Dodd lived in Spokane, Washington in the 1900’s. Her Father was a civil war veteran and farmer, whose wife passed away giving birth to their sixth child. Sonora was the only daughter and helped her Father raise her 5 brothers. Sonora wanted to honour her Father for the effort he put into raising his children on his own and his commitment to his children having a better life than he had.

On June 5th 1909, which was her Father’s birthday, she approached the Mayor of her city and petitioned to have a day to honour Fathers.

The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19th 1909 and is currently celebrated in over 40 countries.

So to all men who may or may not be biological Father’s, thank you for your influence on the lives of children around you. You may never know how much your words of encouragement have changed the direction of someone.

We honour all dad’s today – Happy Father’s Day.