Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there! There are two accounts for how Father’s Day originated. The first is that it was celebrated in 1908 to honor hundreds of men lost in a mining accident. The second is that it was first celebrated in 1910 when a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to honor her father for raising her and her siblings alone. She came up with this idea while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon. Even though the movements started around the same time, Mother’s Day became a national holiday in 1914, but dads had to wait until 1972 for their day to become official. I think dads everywhere get the short end of the stick on this one. Before we go any further, I want to be clear that I am not in any way diminishing a mom’s role. After all, neither Sanjay nor I were close to our dad. Our mom raised us on her own and imagine what a hard job that was!
It is true that moms get celebrated more than their counterparts. The National Retail Federation conducted a study in 2018 and estimated that $23 Billion was spent on Mother’s Day compared to $15 Billion on Father’s Day. The study also showed that 86% of Americans celebrate Mother’s Day, while only 77% celebrate Father’s Day. Mother’s Day is also ranked as the third most popular holiday after Christmas and Thanksgiving. Father’s Day falls seventh after Halloween; how scary is that? 😊
Experts even suggest that marketing for Father’s Day gifts is harder than for Mother’s Day. This may be true, but shouldn’t celebrating loved ones be about the person, and not about gifts? I’m not a dad, but I am a guy, and I think the reason is because as men we tend not to celebrate ourselves, and when we do, we often celebrate differently. We tend to prefer activities with loved ones over gifts; sometimes we even just want time to ourselves, and we usually are not vocal about what we would like. There are studies that back this up. It may be as simple as letting your tribe know how you want to celebrate.
Here is an example…My birthday is coming up soon and my girlfriend asked how I want to celebrate. My answer was: “I’d like dinner with folks I love.” This is truly what I want, and it’s my birthday, right? But she wasn’t happy with that answer because it did not feel right to her; she wants me to celebrate. For me, dinner is a celebration. I don’t want to make a big deal about my birthday, I never do. Maybe that is part of the reason; as men we often don’t make a big deal about these things, but maybe we should. As I’ve gotten older, (I really don’t want to grow up) I’ve started to realize I should celebrate more! We all should! Life is short!
By the way, Tuesday was National Bourbon Day…now that should certainly be a national holiday we should celebrate!
So, to all you dads out there, happy Father’s Day. Enjoy your day, and let your loved ones celebrate you!!!
“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey
What else will you celebrate?
Have a great weekend.
-Vijay