In the US, the third Sunday in June (June 20th for 2010) is the day set aside to celebrate fathers and fatherhood. In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, making the third Sunday in June Father’s Day. In 1972 President Richard Nixon signed the proclamation into law.
Father’s Day is a time when we honor our fathers, and those men in our lives that act in the manner that a father would, whether they are a blood relation or not. Our fathers have a great influence on our lives our lives – during our growing up years, and on into adulthood. Whatever our relationship with them, we honor them out of respect.
The celebration of Father’s Day is less about the gifts that we give than the time that we spend with our fathers. It is about family, time spent together, and family dinners – with our father’s favorite food taking pride of place on the menu!
For those of us that have lost our fathers, it is a time of remembrance. To go through family photo’s, and see through the years all the times that our father was there for us. To light a candle and say a prayer of thanks. To go for a walk somewhere that is dear to us, and allow our memories to come. Perhaps to go to the cemetery, clean the headstone and leave flowers, or perhaps a poem or letter.
However we choose to celebrate this day, we need to do so from our hearts. We need to set aside past hurts, to take time out from our busy schedules and honor one of the major influences in our life. We need to understand that our fathers did the best that they possibly could have done, given their circumstances.
The very best thing that we can do is live our lives to honor our fathers. To reflect the wisdom that they gave us in the most positive, most useful manner.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers out there!