According to the Infogalactic entry for Father's Day the first observation of the day occurred in July of 1908. A woman named Grace Clayton was mourning her recently-deceased father when a disaster at a nearby mine killed several hundred men, two hundred and fifty of them fathers.
Clayton suggested to her pastor a church event honoring these fathers.
This first event did not catch on, but the next few years saw several events honoring fathers and fatherhood, most inspired by the recent trend of Mother's Day.
Father's Day was a hard sell to most Americans, who tended to view it as an attempt by commercial interests to create a new Mother's Day.
As time went on it became increasingly recognized and Richard Nixon signed legislation in 1972 making it a permanent national holiday.
The negative attitude of contemporary Western culture towards men and fatherhood carries over into Father's Day. After 364 days of ridicule the cards rarely come across as sincere, and many just go ahead and make it another abusive joke.
As with Mother's Day, Father's Day is an acknowledgement of a truth that constitutes a real thumb in the eye of People Who Know Better Than Everyone Else. The ridicule and dismissiveness only prove their discomfort.
We don't need an official Father's Day any more than we need an official Mother's Day, but we do have it and the underlying truths deserve recognition and respect.
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