When is Father’s Day Celebrated Around the World?

Father’s Day Around the World

Father’s Day around the world is celebrated to recognize the contribution of fathers to their families and society. It is a celebration of the paternal bond.

Father’s Day Europe

The celebration dates to the Middle Ages, when Catholic Europe used to celebrate Father’s Day on March 19, as the feast day of St. Joseph. It was the Portuguese and Spanish explorers that brought the celebrations to Latin America, which has led to some nations still celebrating Father’s Day on March 19.

However, the day is observed on different dates or months around the world.

The United States celebrates Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. The history of Father’s Day dates to the early 20th century. The first-ever event in honor of fathers was organized by a West Virginian church in 1908, to honor the 362 men killed in a coal mine explosion in Monongah. This event was a one-time commemoration. In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd tried to establish a day for male parents in honor of her father who was a widower and had raised six children. She drummed up support and on June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Washington state. Thereafter, Father’s Day gained popularity in the country. Later in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge called upon state governments to celebrate the day and since then, it is celebrated on the third Sunday of June.

In fact, the majority of nations across the world celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. Some of these nations are; Canada, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Switzerland and Lithuania celebrate Father’s Day on the first Sunday in June, while Poland celebrates it on June 23. There are some other nations which celebrate the day in June but on different dates.

Russia celebrates Father’s Day on February 23.

Uruguay and Dominican Republic celebrate Father’s Day in July, whereas Brazil, Mongolia, South Sudan, and a few other nations celebrate it in August.

In Australia and New Zealand, Father’s Day is observed on the first Sunday in September, while Finland, Iceland, Norway Sweden, and others celebrate it on the second Sunday in November.

Father’s Day Dates Around the world.

(Data Sourced from Wikipedia)

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