In America, Father's Day was founded by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington and celebrated on the third Sunday of June for the first time in 1910. It is held on various days in many parts of the world all throughout the year, often in the months of March, May and June.
Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries, including the UK and the US.
The idea for a father's day originated when Sonora Dodd heard a sermon on Mother's Day in 1909 and was inspired to create a date to honor fathers like her own, a Civil War veteran. Through her efforts, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane on June 19, 1910.
Although Dodd initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, the Spokane pastors did not have enough time to prepare their sermons, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June.
Dodd used the "Fathers' Day" spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling "Father's Day" was already being used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson went to Spokane to speak in a Father's Day celebration and wanted to make it official, but Congress resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.
President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day in 1966. Six years later, the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
Today is
The Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
 |
| Midsummer celebration at Årnäs, Sweden, in 1969 |
In the Northern hemisphere, the summer solstice, or longest day, usually falls on June 20 or 21. The last time it did not fall on either of those dates was in 1975 when it was June 22nd.
The solstice is when the Sun is at its highest point in the sky during a year. The solstice itself is one moment, but many use the word to mean the day when the solstice happens.
In the Southern Hemisphere the June solstice is the winter solstice. It is also known as the northern solstice.
The word solstice comes from Latin and means that "the Sun stands still".
Many think the terms Summer Solstice and Midsummer's Day are interchangeable – but they are in fact their own special events. In 2025, the Summer Solstice is on 21st June. It is the longest day of the year with some 16 and a half hours of sunlight. Historically and in some traditions (especially in the UK as one of the four Quarter Days), Midsummer's Day is observed on June 24th. This date is associated with the feast day of St. John the Baptist.
In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been serious discussions to make the Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden.
