It’s officially Father’s Day this weekend in the UK, (Sunday 19th June for those of you who might’ve forgotten…!) a day devoted to honouring fathers, celebrating fatherhood and thanking the great man himself.
Father’s Day wasn’t recognised in the US until 1972, when President Richard Nixon established national commemoration on the third Sunday of June every year. The history dates back to 1909 when a young girl named Sonora Smart Dodd wanted to have a special day dedicated to her father. It wasn’t until Sonora attended a Mother’s Day sermon at her local Church in Spokane, Washington, that she felt most inspired to try and establish a ‘day for fathers’. Her father, American Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was responsible for raising his six children single-handedly after their mother tragically died during childbirth. What an awesome dad!
Today countries celebrate Father’s Day with most nations adopting the American celebration on 3rd of June. Germany, however, like to do things a little differently.
In some regions of Germany, Father’s Day is known as ‘Vatertag’ or ‘Herrentag’ meaning Gentlemen’s Day. This day is a less refined affair as it basically involves a group of men getting together for a drunken hiking tour. Oh yes, the manpowered ‘Bollerwagen’ (small wagon) is stocked to the rim with regional delicacies and alcoholic beverages, before it’s dragged around by drunk men for an entire day. So this must be why retail stores stock endless alcohol related gifts around Father’s Day!
In the UK, an ‘off the shelf’ gift usually does the trick, whether it’s his favourite beer or wine, the coolest gadget of the year or a classic chocolate selection. And at some point this weekend people across the world will be showing their gratitude by giving their dad a present and saying ‘Happy Father’s Day’.
And since this special day is commemorated in over 25 countries we thought it might be a nice idea to learn ‘Happy Father’s Day’ in a few different languages. So here are the translations….
French – Jour de père heureux
German – Alles Gute zum Vatertag
Portuguese – Feliz Dia dos Pais
Romanian – Happy Ziua Tatălui
Spanish – Feliz Día del Padre
Italian – Padre felice del giorno
Danish – Happy Fars dag
Thai – วันพ่อมีความสุขของ
Korean -해피 아버지의 일
Turkish – Mutlu baba günü
Czech – Happy Den otců
Finnish – Happy Isänpäivä
Maltese – Jum missier kuntenta
Swahili – Happy baba siku
Croatian – Sretan Očev dan
Wherever you are in the world, we hope you have a great time celebrating Father’s Day!
