The United States is one of the few countries in the world that has an official day on which fathers are honored by their children. On the third Sunday in June, fathers all across the United States are given presents, treated to dinner or otherwise made to feel special.

The origin of Father’s Day is not clear. Some say that it began with a church service in West Virginia in 1908. Others say the first Father’s Day ceremony was held in Vancouver, Washington.

The president of the Chicago branch of the Lions’ Club, Harry¹ Meek², is said to have celebrated³ the first Father’s Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, the closest date to Meek’s own birthday!

Regardless of when the first true Father’s Day occurred, the strongest promoter of the holiday was Mrs. Bruce John Dodd of Spokane, Washington. Mrs. Dodd felt that she had an outstanding father. He was a veteran of the Civil War. His wife had died young, and he had raised six children without their mother.

In 1909, Mrs. Dodd approached her own minister and others in Spokane about having a church service dedicated⁴ to fathers on June 5, her father’s birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke⁵ a few weeks later on June 19th. From then on, the state of Washington celebrated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Children made special desserts, or visited their fathers if they lived apart.

States and organizations began lobbying Congress to declare an annual Father’s Day. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson approved of this idea, but it was not until 1924 when President Calvin Coolidge made it a national event to “establish more intimate relations between fathers and their children and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.” Since then, fathers had been honored and recognized by their families throughout the country on the third Sunday in June.

When children can’t visit their fathers or take them out to dinner, they send a greeting card. Traditionally, fathers prefer greeting cards that are not too sentimental⁶. Most greeting cards are whimsical so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

Father’s Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father’s Day.

美国是少数几个将“父亲节”作为法定节日的国家之一。在六月的第三个星期天，全美国的父亲都将收到礼物、被邀请就餐或以其他一些方式有一种特别的感受。

“父亲节”的起源并不很清楚，有人说它起始于1908年西弗吉尼亚的一种教堂仪式，也有人说第一个“父亲节”仪式是在华盛顿的范库弗峰举行的，还有人说是Lions俱乐部芝加哥分部的会长Harry Meek于1915年在其俱乐部庆祝了第一个“父亲节”。

不管“父亲节”到底是什么时候出现的，这个节日最强大的推动者都是多德太太。在她的推动下，华盛顿州将六月的第三个星期天定为“父亲节”。其后，其他的州及组织开始游说国会将“父亲节”作为每年的例行节日。1916年， Woodrow Wilson总统批准了这一提议，但是直到1924年，“父亲节”才在全国范围内风行起来。

在“父亲节”这一天，孩子们会为父亲做特别的甜点，如果和父亲不住在一起则会邀请父亲到家中来。如果无法邀请父亲到家或到外面就餐，他们会寄上一张贺卡。通常，父亲会更喜欢不太感伤的贺卡。大部分贺卡都很古怪，这样当父亲打开的时便会大笑。一些贺卡也会送上一些衷心的感激之辞，感谢父亲在需要之时一如既往的守护。

现在，“父亲节”已经成为向父亲及所有扮演父亲角色的人表达敬意的节日。继父、伯父、祖父，所有成年男性都将在父亲节受到尊敬。