When Is Father's Day in 2021? Here's Everything You Need to Know

Fathers Day 2021:

June is when fathers all over the world get their due. You see, the 3rd Sunday of June is traditionally celebrated as Fathers Day in many countries. Though we don't need a specific date to celebrate our Dads, it is nice that they have a special day all for themselves. Restrictions for the pandemic have been lifted in many states, so if you are apart, you may get to meet in person this year. But even if you're not able to meet, you can still celebrate by surprising him with a gift.

Finding the perfect gift for someone who keeps saying he doesn't need anything can be hard. But you know that in his heart of hearts, he will be mighty pleased that you remembered and took the trouble to get him a nice gift. Now it’s time to find out more about this special day, including its history.

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When Is Fathers Day 2021?

You still have some time to organize a special brunch or even try out a DIY craft to create a gift for your Dad. Father's Day 2021 falls on June 20, 2021, a Sunday.

Is Fathers Day Always On The Same Date?

No, it is not. The date may change every year. But Father's Day always falls on the third Sunday in June. 

The History Of Fathers Day

Father's Day was actually established by a woman. In 1909, a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd tried to come up with an official equivalent to Mother’s Day to honor male parents. She met the owners of many local businesses, pastors of local churches, and government officials, and the YMCA to get them to support her idea. Finally, on June 19, 1910, Washington state celebrated the first-ever Father's Day.

A West Virginia church had sponsored the first event in honor of fathers on July 5, 1908 - a Sunday sermon to remember the 362 men who lost their lives in an explosion, the previous December, at the Fairmont Coal Company mines in Monongah. But it was just a one-time commemoration.

Why was Sonora so keen to celebrate fathers? The reason was personal. Sonora’s father, William Jackson Smart, was a Civil War veteran and widower from Arkansas. He was a single parent who looked after his six children on his own. Sonora looked up to her father and wanted to appreciate what he had done, something quite uncommon in those days. She actually wanted to celebrate Father’s Day on June 5, which was her father’s birthday, but it was moved to the third Sunday of June due to her pastor’s time constraints. Since then, Father’s Day is always observed on the third Sunday in June. 
 
But the campaign to celebrate fathers was not met with much enthusiasm, maybe because, as some felt, fathers lacked the sentimental appeal that mothers had. But slowly, the holiday began to be acknowledged. In 1916, President Wilson observed the day by using telegraph signals to unfurl a flag in Spokane. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge suggested that state governments observe Father’s Day.

Unfortunately, during the '20s and '30s, people tried to scrap both Mother's Day and Father's Day and instead replace them with Parents’ Day! During the Great Depression, however, struggling retailers and advertisers made an effort to commercialize the holiday as a way of making money during the dire financial period. 

They tried to turn Father’s Day into a “second Christmas” for men and promoted products like neckties, socks, hats, pipes and tobacco, golf clubs and other sports goods, greeting cards, etc.
When World War II started, advertisers said that celebrating Father’s Day was one way to honor American troops and also support the war efforts. By the time the war ended, Father’s Day had become a national institution, though it was not yet a federal holiday.

Finally, many decades later, , President Richard Nixon signed Proclamation 4127 on May 1, 1972, declaring Father's Day a national holiday. The first official celebration was on June 18, 1972. "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," he wrote in the document.

In other countries, especially in Europe, Latin America, etc., fathers are celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day, which is a traditional Catholic holiday that falls on March 19.