Father’s Day

Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127: 3-5

Traditionally Father’s Day was celebrated on March 19 in Catholic countries, a feast day of Saint Joseph.  The first Father’s Day observance in the US was on July 5, 1908 In Fairmont, West Virginia.  It was held to honor the 250 fathers who had been among the 361 miners killed in the Monongah mining disaster in Monongah, West Virginia.  The observance receive little publicity and it did not start the current Father’s Day.  Over the next few decades there would be proposals to have a Father’s Day and observances, but nothing took hold.  In 1957 Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a bill to establish Father’s Day, stating it was unfair to have Mother’s Day and not a Father’s Day. In 1966 President Johnson issued a proclamation establishing Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June.  President Nixon in 1972 signed a bill establishing Father’s Day as a national holiday. 

My Dad used to say he didn’t need a card or a present on Father’s Day because he had all he ever wanted:  his family, which I thought basically summed up Father’s Day.  The ultimate assessment of a father in this world is whether he is missed after he dies, and although my father departed this Vale of Tears 33 years ago, I find myself missing him more each year.

A happy Father’s Day to all our readers.