Jun 20. 2010
It was Ms. Sonora Dodd from Washington, USA who thought that father’s day deserves to be celebrated just like Mother’s day. She was right in thinking so. Sonora and her five siblings (including a newborn) were raised by her dad single handedly after the death of their mother in childbirth. Their father was both a mother and a father for them and having experienced the love and the sacrifice of her dad she worked relentlessly to make people realize the importance of fathers.
President Coolidge was the first to give it an official recognition in 1924 but President Nixon was the one who popularized the holiday and set aside the third Sunday of June to celebrate father’s day. Today, father’s day celebration is not limited to the United States but has spread worldwide. Fathers need to be appreciated every single day of the year no doubt, but this celebration is a special way to show your gratitude to fathers. We have to remember however that flowers, gifts and brand name greeting cards don’t really do justice to the unconditional love a father bestows on his children.
Modern day father knows that his role does not end with conception but it is just the beginning. They don’t gag while changing poopy diapers, they don’t mind when their little ones take a leak on their shirt or throw up curdled milk. They are courageous enough to hold a day old infant in their arms. They know how to burp their children and how to put their fussy children to sleep with a lullaby (sung in tenor). This development has strengthened the father-child bond and has made fathers more responsible. Present day Dad is not the macho male who just knows how to roar but the tender soul who has learnt how to rear. Like Philip Whitmore Senior says “Any fool can be a Father, but it takes a real man to be a Daddy!! " Isn’t that a fact?
Father’s day is not just for fathers; it is for all the children who forget the pains taken by their fathers to rear them to be successful. It is a day to remember the selfless and unconditional love bestowed by fathers on their children. This is the day to remind all the ungrateful children who look for senior citizens homes to dump their fathers when they are fragile or senile.
“My father gave me a greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me” says Jim Valvano. I am sure many of you would like to say the same about your fathers. I know I do. Kudos to all fathers whose gentle, caring and daring ways make their children proud.
It is a day to honor fathers who do not know their children because they are in distant lands trying to earn a living. This is the day to applaud all fathers who love their adopted children as if their own. Let us honor those Dads who stay faithful to their spouses and steadfast in their duties of fatherhood. We need to congratulate those dads who despite not having a good role model for a father turned out to be great fathers for their children. And, finally, it is a day to pay homage to those fathers who, though dead, live in their children’s hearts because of what they did and because of who they were.
Happy Father’s Day!
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