Father’s Day is a time to celebrate and remember the dads and father figures in our lives.
The holiday is also fast approaching.
Father’s Day takes place in June, and its origins date back to the early 1900s, when a woman in Spokane, Washington, reportedly hatched the idea of a day to honor dads in the United States.
The nonprofit tourism organization Visit Spokane calls the city the “birthplace” of Father’s Day.
Here’s what to know about the holiday.
When is Father’s Day?
Father’s Day falls on June 15, 2025.
It is always observed on the third Sunday of June in the U.S., according to Time and Date.
What does Father’s Day celebrate?
Father’s Day honors fathers and other caregivers, such as grandfathers, for the familial and societal role they play in raising children and setting an example for others, according to National Day Calendar.
How is Father’s Day celebrated?
There are multiple ways to celebrate Father’s Day.
Some people remember or reflect on the contributions fathers have made in their families over dinner. Others take time out of the day to share in a hobby or special activity with the people in their lives who have taken on a parenting role. Many others will show their appreciation with gifts and personalized greeting cards.
For some of the fathers still with us, a simple phone call may be one of the most appreciated gestures.
Where did Father’s Day start?
While there are conflicting reports about the origins of Father’s Day in the U.S., the Encyclopedia Britannica explains that credit is “generally given” to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington.
Dodd’s father was a Civil War veteran who raised her and her siblings following their mother’s death in childbirth. Reports claim that Dodd conceived of the idea for the holiday in 1909 while at church, drawing inspiration from Mother’s Day, which was gaining support as a holiday at the time, according to Britannica.
“Sonora, a prominent member of the Spokane community, took the idea of Father’s Day to the local YMCA,” the Visit Spokane website states. “The Spokane YMCA, along with the Ministerial Alliance, endorsed Dodd’s idea and helped spread the word by celebrating the first Father’s Day in 1910.”
The Dodd House in Spokane was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010, according to the National Park Service.
The day became a national holiday in 1972 when President Richard Nixon issued a proclamation cementing Father’s Day as a national holiday.
“This is fitting and good,” the proclamation states, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “Let each American make this Father’s Day an occasion for renewal of the love and gratitude we bear to our fathers, increasing and enduring through all the years.”
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Father’s Day 2025: When is it? Why is it celebrated? How did it start?
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