Father's Day --- Third Sunday in June

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 Chicagobranch（分部）of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek, is said to have celebrated 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 dedicated to fathers on June 5, her father's birthday. That date was too soon for her minister to prepare the service, so he spoke 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 beganlobbying（游说）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 sentimental. Most greeting cards arewhimsical（奇形怪状的，异想天开的）so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

父亲节（father's day）简介

6月的第三个星期日是父亲节。相对于母亲节，父亲节是人们比较陌生的一个节日，是1910年在美国华盛顿州的士波肯市由杜德太太发起的。

而我国的父亲节起源，要追溯到国民时代。民国三十四年的八月八日，上海闻人所发起了庆祝父亲节的活动，市民立即响应，热烈举行庆祝活动。抗日战争胜利后，上海市各界名流仕绅，联名请上海市政府转呈中央政府，定“爸爸”谐音的八月八日为全国性的父亲节。

虽然今日一般人对于父亲节的庆祝活动，不像对母亲节一般的重视与热闹，但是上帝在圣经中教导我们对于父母的关爱却是一致的，当母亲含辛茹苦地照顾我们时，父亲也在努力地扮演着上帝所赋予他的温柔角色；或许当我们努力思考着该为父亲买什么样的礼物过父亲节之时，不妨反省一下，我们是否爱我们的父亲，像他曾为我们无私地付出一生呢？