Why Father’s Day is Today, Not Super Bowl Sunday
By Emily Young MA ‘16
SPOILER: Today is Father’s Day. If you have not yet wished your dad a Happy Father’s Day, please do so before continuing to read the rest of this article.
Have you ever wondered why the third Sunday in June is always Father’s Day? It’s during the sports lull of the year with NBA and NHL just finishing and NFL and College Football three months away. Yes, there is still MLB for good o’l pops, but isn’t ultimate manhood celebrated on Super Bowl Sunday? Last Super Bowl was actually called Dad’s Super Bowl due to all the advertising geared towards dads.
Another hypothesis is that Father’s Day is held on the third Sunday of June to celebrate the art of grilling. (Would be a little chilly to do on Super Bowl Sunday in half the U.S.)
The real origin of Father’s Day dates back to 1908, where a West Virginia church honored all fathers with a Sunday sermon in memory of the 362 men who had died in the previous December’s explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mines. On July 19, 1910, the governor of Washington State proclaimed the nation’s first Father’s Day.
The holiday had slow adoption until World War II. One historian wrote, “men scoffed at the holiday’s sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving, or they derided the proliferation of such holidays as a commercial gimmick to sell more products–often paid for by the father himself.” In 1972 Nixon signed a proclamation making Father’s Day a federal holiday, 58 years after President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day official.
I believe the origin of Father’s Day still underlies the values of Father’s Day today. Father’s didn’t ask for special treatment or for commercialized gifts, but to be honored and celebrated as dads. This Father’s Day express to your dad how much he truly means to you. All any dad wants to hear is that you are happy and well, and that the college education he is paying half of is actually beneficial.
Dad, thanks for always supporting all my accomplishments and dreams. You always know what to say to motivate me. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!
~Emily
