Happy Father's Day

On Friday I gave a little bit of the History of Flag Day (see my card and post HERE) so I thought it would be fun to look up the history of Father's Day.   I bet you'd be surprised at how long (or SHORT) it's been an OFFICIAL holiday!  

On July 19 of 1910, the governor of Washington, proclaimed the nation's first "Father's Day".  However, it was not until 1972 that the day became an official holiday in the United States.  This was after we had be already celebrating Mother's Day for 58 years!  

So, what brought about the July 1910 proclamation in Washington?  A Spokane, Washington woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, one of six children raised by a widower, tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother’s Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation’s first statewide Father’s Day on July 19, 1910.  Slowly the idea spread but was met with disdain by many men.  One historian writes, they “scoffed at the holiday’s sentimental attempts to domesticate manliness with flowers and gift-giving, or they derided the proliferation of such holidays as a commercial gimmick to sell more products--often paid for by the father himself.”

In the 1920s and 1930's many tried to scrap the idea of a Mother's Day and a Father's Day suggesting that there should just be one holiday - a "Parent's Day".  Then the great despression came, and many struggling retailers and advertisers doubled their efforts to support Father's Day by promoting neckties, hats, socks and tobacco and sporting goods. When WWII began, advertisers argued that celebrating Father's Day was a way to honor the troops and support the war efforts.  By the end of the WWII Father's Day had become a national institution.

Finally, in 1972 Richard Nixon signed a proclamation that at last made Father's Day a national holiday.   

Happy Father's Day to ALL of the Father's out there!   Here is the card I created for my Father!

I used the sketch from Retro Sketches for my card and paper from Later Sk8r.  The "Happy Father's Day" was cut using the Artiste Cricut Cartridge.   

To add a little texture to the plain Outdoor Denim cardstock base, I used a texture stamp from the Universal Background stamp set.  I scissored distressed the edges of the paper and cardstock to give it a rough look.

Recipe 5x7 Card

Later Sk8r Paper

Universal Background (D1477)

Color Ready Wooden Trinket Shapes (Z1844)

Bakers Twine - Mini Medley Accents Wooden Collection (Z1837)

Artiste Cricut Cartridge - (Z1790)

Retro Sketch