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For fathers across New Zealand, the first Sunday in September is a familiar date on the calendar. There will be cards, breakfast in bed, family lunches, socks, chocolates and perhaps the inevitable power tool or bottle of something special.
But why do New Zealanders celebrate Father’s Day in September when much of the world marks the occasion in June?
The answer lies in a curious mixture of history, tradition and commerce.Father’s Day is a relatively recent addition to the New Zealand calendar. An early Auckland celebration was held in July 1929, before the occasion gradually gained wider recognition.
During the following decade, September became established as the preferred time for the celebration. New Zealand followed a pattern that also developed in Australia, giving the two countries a Father’s Day tradition that differs from that of countries such as the United States, Canada and Britain.
The timing had some obvious advantages. September sits at the beginning of spring, well away from the busy run of winter celebrations and other established occasions on the calendar.
It also suited retailers and offered another opportunity to promote gifts during what could otherwise be a relatively quiet period for shops. As the celebration became increasingly commercialised, September provided a useful gap between other major gift-buying occasions.
But the origins of Father’s Day are far more complicated than the modern tradition of socks, barbecues and “World’s Best Dad” mugs.
The idea of setting aside a special day to honour fathers emerged in the United States more than a century ago, with two women playing important roles in its early history.
One of the earliest known events took place in 1908 in West Virginia, following one of the worst mining disasters in
American history. Grace Golden Clayton, whose father was a Methodist minister, suggested a church service to remember the hundreds of men killed in a mining explosion.
The event was intended primarily as a memorial rather than the beginning of a new national celebration, but the idea of honouring fathers had begun to take hold.
The following year, another woman would give Father’s Day a much more personal meaning. Sonora Smart Dodd, from Spokane, Washington, was listening to a sermon about Mother’s Day when she began thinking about her own father.
Her father, William Jackson Smart, had been left to raise six children after his wife died giving birth to their sixth child. Smart became a single parent at a time when raising a large family alone was an extraordinary challenge for a man.
Dodd believed her father deserved recognition for the sacrifices he had made for his children.
She began campaigning for a special day to honour fathers, initially suggesting June 5 – her father’s birthday. The date proved difficult to organise around, however, and the celebration was eventually scheduled for the third Sunday in June.
Although the modern Father’s Day movement dates from the early 1900s, the idea of honouring fathers is much older.
In many Catholic countries, fathers have traditionally been associated with Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.
Saint Joseph’s Day is celebrated on March 19 and has been observed in parts of Europe since the Middle Ages. The day has traditionally been an occasion to honour Saint Joseph and, more broadly, fathers and fatherhood.
Different countries have subsequently developed their own traditions and dates.
In the United States, Father’s Day remains on the third Sunday in June.
