Gacad: Happy Father’s Day

Social media is awash with greetings. In fact there are already Happy Father’s Day greetings. Having said that, let us take a look at some countries that celebrate this special day for dads.

In Germany, Father’s Day (“Vatertag”) is celebrated on Ascension Day, which is a public holiday in Germany. Ascension Day is the 40th day of Easter and commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven 39 days after his resurrection on Easter Sunday. It always takes place on a Thursday. In some regions of Germany, it is also known as men’s day (Männertag) or gentlemen’s day as all males, even those who are not Fathers, take part in the celebrations.

A custom on Father’s Day is that men will go out for hikes taking some wagons with them. This might sound like a healthy pastime, but the wagons are loaded with beer, wine and food to ‘sustain’ the men on their hike. The beer and wine supplies are fully depleted before the hike is over.

Getting drunk seems to be an important part of the celebrations and according to the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, alcohol-related accidents multiply by three on this day Father’s Day is held on the third Sunday of June in the United Kingdom.

It is a day to honor fathers and father figures, such as grandfathers and fathers-in-law. Father’s Day is not a public holiday. It falls on Sunday, 21 June 2020 and most businesses follow regular Sunday opening hours. Common Father’s Day gifts are ties, socks, underwear, sweaters, slippers and other items of clothing.

Other people give tools for household maintenance or garden work, luxury food items or drinks. In the days and weeks before Father’s Day, many schools, Sunday schools and children’s organizations help their pupils to prepare a handmade card or gift for their father. A common Father’s Day meal is a traditional roast dinner with meat, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables, which can be eaten in a pub and accompanied by pints of ale or lager.

Father’s Day in the United States is on the third Sunday of June. It celebrates the contribution that fathers and father figures make for their children’s lives. Its origins may lie in a memorial service held for a large group of men, many of them fathers, who were killed in a mining accident in Monongah, West Virginia in 1907. Father’s Day is not a federal holiday. Organizations, businesses and stores are open or closed, just as they are on any other Sunday in the year. Public transit systems run to their normal Sunday schedules.

Restaurants may be busier than usual, as some people take their fathers out for a treat.

There are a range of events, which may have inspired the idea of Father’s Day. One of these was the start of the Mother’s Day tradition in the first decade of the 20th century. A woman called Sonora Smart Dodd was an influential figure in the establishment of Father’s Day. Her father raised six children by himself after the death of their mother. This was uncommon at that time, as many widowers placed their children in the care of others or quickly married again.

Sonora felt that her father deserved recognition for what he had done. The first time Father’s Day was held in June was in 1910. Father’s Day was officially recognized as a holiday in 1972 by President Nixon.

In Mainland China, Father’s Day (the third Sunday in June) is almost unknown. It isn’t a public holiday, but expats in China might celebrate it. Perhaps some Western fathers might be honored on the day by their family, friends, or workmates. This wasn’t always the case though. During the WWII years, Father’s Day was celebrated on August 8.

The Republic of China government wanted to celebrate the soldiers who died and honor fathers. They chose that date because in Chinese, August 8 can be shortened to “ba ba.”

This sounds similar to the informal word for father (bàba). This tradition dropped off in the Mainland, but was continued in Taiwan under the Republic of China government.

In Taiwan, Father’s Day is not an official holiday, but is now widely observed on August 8. People often take their father out for dinner, give gifts, or at least call them to give them a greeting. (Baba Jie means “August 8th Day” or “Fathers’ Day”).

In Macau, Father’s Day (Dia do Pai) is the third Sunday of June, and it isn’t a public holiday. In Hong Kong, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June and is not a public holiday either.

Local Hong Kongers have adopted Western traditions, so it is more common for Hong Kong fathers to be greeted, treated, or honored on this day.

Many Australians observe Father’s Day on the first Sunday of September. It is a day for people to show their appreciation for fathers and father figures. Father figures may include stepfathers, fathers-in-law, guardians (eg. foster parents), and family friends. Father’s Day is not a public holiday. It falls on Sunday, September 6, 2020 and most businesses follow regular Sunday opening hours.

In Thailand. as King Bhumibol was seen by many as the symbolic father of Thailand, December 5 has also long been celebrated as father’s day nationwide – in the same way as mother’s day falls on August 12, the birthday of Queen Sirikit – and this has not been changed since his passing.

Mother’s Day in the Philippines used to be celebrated on the first Monday of December. On this day, school children placed pink cadena de amor, others say carnations, on their chests. Schoolchildren who no longer have mothers placed white cadena de amor on their chests. Appropriate programs were held all over the country in honor of mothers and husbands gave gifts to their wives.

It was said that in 1921, the Ilocos Norte Federation of Women’s Clubs appealed to then American Governor-General Charles Yeater to declare the first Monday of December as Mother’s Day to honor these fabulous women who brought forth God’s children into this world. Governor-General Yeater responded with the issuance of Circular No. 33 designating the first Monday of every December as Mother’s Day.

The then Bureau of Education was designated as the agency in charge of the national celebration. When the Philippine Commonwealth Government was proclaimed, President Manuel L. Quezon also issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring the first Monday of December as Mother’s Day. Then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2037 in 1980, declaring the first Monday of December as Mother’s Day. During the term of President Corazon Aquino, however, she issued Proclamation No. 266 declaring the first Sunday of May as Mother’s Day, thereby changing the Filipino tradition of Mother’s Day.

What the article forgot to mention is that this tradition was revived by President Joseph Ejercito Estrada through Proclamation No. 58, s. 1998. He amended Proclamation No. 266, s. 1988, changing the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebration from the second Sunday of May and third Sunday of June, respectively, to the first Monday of December.

Whew! Basta HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

“One of the greatest gifts my father gave me — unintentionally — was witnessing the courage with which he bore adversity. We had a bit of a rollercoaster life with some really challenging financial periods. He was always unshaken, completely tranquil, the same ebullient, laughing, jovial man.” ~ Ben Okri

“Man becomes man only by his intelligence, but he is man only by his heart.” ~ Henri Frederic Amiel