It’s Father’s Day on Sunday 18th June and we’re pretty sure he would not object to a very special personal gift.
Transatlantic origins
The celebration of fatherhood in the European catholic church can be traced back as far as 1508 when it was linked to St Joseph’s Day, 19 March.
It is believed that the first modern Father's Day took the form of a church service in West Virginia on 5 July 1908, in honour of those who had perished in a mine explosion.
In 1910, the idea for an annual celebration was advanced by Sonora Dodd in Washington State, initially to thank her father who had raised the family single-handedly. Dodd capitalised on the popularity of the widely-celebrated Mother's Day to campaign for a twin event. Her original choice of date was a fixed 5 June, her own father’s birthday but, eventually, it came to be observed on the third Sunday of June, each year.
The idea didn’t immediately catch on, however, and it was not until the 1930s that commercial enterprises saw the potential and began supporting the idea. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson supported the idea but was denied by Congress. It was not until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson finally authorised the establishment of the date, and it was declared a public holiday by his successor, Richard Nixon, in 1972.
Father’s Day in the UK
Like Mother’s Day and Halloween, the promotions of previously low-key celebrations were slow to take hold over here, but Father’s Day is now firmly set in the calendar.
So take the opportunity to treat dad to his very own personal number plate. There are endless possibilities based on his name or initials, or a word which relates to his hobbies and interests.
