When is Father's Day and why do we celebrate it?
Father's Day is celebrated in the UK on the third Sunday in June - but it hasn't officially been around for as long as you might think.
While you've been coming up with ideas of how to honour the father figures in your life this year, BBC Bitesize has been finding out more about where it all came from.
Why not have a read - and then you can impress them with your knowledge!
1. Father's Day was created by a woman
It’s thought that the tradition was started by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, born in 1882 in Arkansas, USA.
She came up with the idea after wondering why, despite there being an official holiday recognising Mother’s Day, there was no equivalent for fathers.
Sonora and her brothers had been raised solely by their father after their mother passed away in childbirth. After her suggestion, the first Father’s Day was held on 19 June 1910.
2. But it wasn’t officially recognised until many years later
Despite Sonora’s idea taking off, Father’s Day wasn’t officially recognised until a lot later.
The holiday was being celebrated around America and committees were even formed. But it wasn't until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.
From then on, it was made a permanent national holiday by President Richard Nixon in 1972. Around this time, the UK also decided to adopt the same third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate dads.
3. Catholic countries celebrate it on a different day
In some Catholic countries, such as Italy, Spain and Portugal, Father’s Day has been celebrated on 19 March since the Middle Ages.
That's because the date also marks St Joseph's Day, a feast day dedicated to Joseph of Nazareth, the Virgin Mary's husband and the legal father of Jesus.
St Joseph is the patron saint of fathers, and it's now become a day to celebrate other dads - even if they aren't quite so well known!
4. There are different traditions around the world
We've already seen how different countries celebrate Father's Day at different times - but they also celebrate in lots of different ways.
Many countries have similar traditions to us in the UK, with cards, gifts, homemade school projects and perhaps a family meal or even breakfast in bed!
But there are countries that have slightly different twists with their own traditions.
In Germany, Father's Day is celebrated on Ascension Day - the Thursday 40 days after Easter- and is also known as Gentlemen's Day. One tradition involves men taking part in hiking tours, bringing along small wagons filled with Hausmannkost - simple, hearty dishes prepared at home. They also bring drinks, including beer.
In Thailand, Father's Day takes place on 5 December, which is also the birthday of the late . Traditionally, Thai people celebrate by giving their father figures a canna flower, though this is less popular nowadays. They also wear yellow and light candles to show respect for the late king, who was seen as the father of the nation.
Over in France, dads could actually be nominated for a national prize when the holiday was first established in the 1950s. It's celebrated in the same day as in the US and UK, and father figures could be nominated by a town's social services or mayor's office.
In Japan, traditional gifts for Father's Day include sake (Japanese rice wine), shochu (Japanese liquor), gourmet food and various sweets.
5. The official flower of Father's Day is the rose
Did you know Father's Day has an official flower - and it's the rose?
In some countries, red roses are traditionally given to honour fathers or father figures who are still alive, while white roses honour those who have passed away.
It was all Sonora Smart Dodd's idea - the woman who created Father's Day in the US. She suggested people wear a small red or white rose somewhere on their person as a symbol of love for their fathers.
For Mother's Day, the official flower is the carnation.
This article was written in June 2025 and updated in June 2026.
What if you don't feel like celebrating?
Depending on your situation, you and your family might not feel like celebrating Father's Day. And that's OK. We have some more articles that might help here.
