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 Chicago branch 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 began lobbying 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 are whimsical so fathers laugh when they open them. Some give heartfelt thanks for being there whenever the child needed Dad.

　　Father’s Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father’s Day.

　　輔助閱讀：

　　美國是少數幾個將“父親節”作為法定節日的國家之一。在六月的第三個星期天，全美國的父親都將收到禮物、被邀請就餐或以其他一些方式有一種特別的感受。

　　“父親節”的起源并不很清楚，有人說它起始于1908年西弗吉尼亞的一種教堂儀式，也有人說第一個“父親節”儀式是在華盛頓的范庫弗峰舉行的，還有人說是Lions俱樂部芝加哥分部的會長Harry Meek于1915年在其俱樂部慶祝了第一個“父親節”。

　　不管“父親節”到底是什么時候出現的，這個節日最強大的推動者都是多德太太。在她的推動下，華盛頓州將六月的第三個星期天定為“父親節”。其后，其他的州及組織開始游說國會將“父親節”作為每年的例行節日。1916年， Woodrow Wilson總統批準了這一提議，但是直到1924年，“父親節”才在全國范圍內風行起來。

　　在“父親節”這一天，孩子們會為父親做特別的甜點，如果和父親不住在一起則會邀請父親到家中來。如果無法邀請父親到家或到外面就餐，他們會寄上一張賀卡。通常，父親會更喜歡不太感傷的賀卡。大部分賀卡都很古怪，這樣當父親打開的時便會大笑。一些賀卡也會送上一些衷心的感激之辭，感謝父親在需要之時一如既往的守護。

　　現在，“父親節”已經成為向父親及所有扮演父親角色的人表達敬意的節日。繼父、伯父、祖父，所有成年男性都將在父親節受到尊敬。

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