Father’s Day will be celebrated on June 21st this year. Here are some fun facts about this special day for dads:
- The first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane Washington on June 19, 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd spearheaded the efforts for fathers to be recognized.
- Father’s Day became a national holiday in 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed it into law.
- About 87 million cards are given each year, making Father’s Day the fourth-largest greeting card occasion of the year.
- 13-year-old Alfie Patten became the world’s youngest father in February of 2009 when he fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend.
- Father’s Day is the busiest day of the year for collect phone calls.
- In 1967, Frank & Nancy Sinatra became the only father-daughter duo to top the Billboard pop music charts. Their hit single was titled “Something Stupid”.
- If show creator/producer Sherwood Schwartz had gotten his way, Gene Hackman would have portrayed the role of father Mike Brady on the Brady Bunch.
- The world’s oldest father is Ramjit Raghav of India. In 2010, he fathered a child at the age of 94. In 2012, he fathered another child at the age of 96!
- Female shoppers spend 50 percent more than men on gifts for their dad.
- In Portugal and Spain, Father’s Day is celebrated on March 19th, which is Saint Joseph’s Day. Australia celebrates Father’s Day on the first Sunday in September.
- Red or white roses are the official flower of Father’s Day. Mrs. Dodd suggested wearing a red rose for a father who was living and wearing a white rose to honor a father who was deceased.
