Father's Day around the world

When is Father's Day in 2014
Italy	March 19
Spain	March 19
Portugal	March 19
Germany	May 29
Lithuania	June 01
Switzerland	June 01
Denmark	June 05
Austria	June 08
Belgium	June 08
Argentina	June 15
Canada	June 15
Chile	June 15
France	June 15
Hungary	June 15
Ireland	June 15
Netherlands	June 15
United Kingdom	June 15
USA	June 15
Colombia	June 15
Malta	June 15
Mexico	June 15
Australia	September 07
New Zealand	September 07
Latvia	September 14
Luxembourg	October 05
Estonia	November 09
Finland	November 09
Iceland	November 09
Norway	November 09
Sweden	November 09

Did you know? There are more reverse charge telephone calls on Father's Day than on any other day in the year.

Father's Day is a celebration that honours the role of fathers and forefathers. It is a modern holiday, though the ancient Romans did have a tradition of honouring fathers, every February, but only those who had deceased.

Around the world, Father's Day is celebrated on different dates though the day is celebrated in a similar manner, usually involving giving gifts to fathers and family activities.

In Spain, Italy and Portugal, Father's Day is celebrated on 19 March, which is the Feast of St. Joseph who is the patron saint of fathers.

In Germany, Father's Day is celebrated on the same date as Ascension Day.

Across Scandinavia, the tradition of a Father's Day was adopted in the 1930's. Originally the American date was used, but in 1949 the Nordic countries decided to move it to the second Sunday in November. This was partly to place it half a year away from Mother's Day but also it was chosen to increase sales in an otherwise quiet trading period before Christmas. The only country who didn't fall in line was Denmark. They forgot to inform the public and press about the date change, so Father's Day remained on the same day as their other early June holiday,Constitution Day.

In the USA, the first noted Father's Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was first celebrated as a church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church.

It is said that Grace Golden Clayton suggested the service to the pastor as a memorial after a mine explosion in nearby Monongah had killed 361 men the previous winter. Another explanation for the service was Mothers' Day, which had been celebrated for the first time two months prior in Grafton, a town that was 15 miles away.

An alternative claim for the inventor of Father's Day is the president of the Chicago branch of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek. He 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, which was the closest Sunday to Meek's birthday.

A key figure in the establishment of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, whose father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent reared his six children. Mrs Dodd initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death as a date for Father's Day. It is claimed she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make the arrangements, and thus the celebration was put back to the third Sunday of June.

The first Father's Day in June was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended the day as a national holiday.

President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 1966, though the day was not officially recognised until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

Over 100 million Father’s Day cards will be expected to be given this year in the United States, making Father’s Day the fifth-largest card-sending occasion. 

Source: Hallmark research