The celebration of Father’s Day is actually held on different dates around the globe, with each region maintaining their own traditions and festivities.
This day of celebration for fatherhood is said to date back to the early 1500s when the Catholic Church supported its celebration on Saint Joseph's Day, otherwise known as 'The Feast of Saint Joseph'. The day reveres the "Nourisher of the Lord" (as referred to in Catholicism) or "the putative father of Jesus" (as known in Southern European tradition), and so was a fitting time to mark appreciation for Fathers.
In Roman Catholic European countries, it has been celebrated on 19th March, but in the Coptic Orthodox Church, the day is celebrated on 20th July.
The following year, however, the daughter of an American Civil War veteran and student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Sonora Smart Dodd, convinced the Spokane Ministerial Alliance to celebrate Father's Day worldwide after learning of the newly recognised Mother's Day.
She held her father in extremely high regard, especially as he raised her and her younger siblings alone after the death of her mother and felt strongly that the efforts of fathers around the world should be acknowledged.
Interestingly, the day of observation was initially met with disdain in Australia, with newspapers writing scathing editorials and poems which considered the idea to be asserting male dominance or “supremacy” over the household. Thankfully the day was eventually welcomed, just as with Mother's Day, as a day to simply show love and appreciation to our parental figures.
appreciation, and respect of children and spouse”. It was later signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
In France the holiday was traditionally a Catholic celebration, known as Fête des Pères, and wasn't officially decreed until 1952 due to the commercial success of lighter manufacturer Flaminaire's campaign to highlight the idea with the advertising campaign, “Our daddies told us, for Father's
Day, they all want a Flaminaire”. Now, it is traditional in France to give red roses to fathers or leave white roses on the graves of the fathers who have passed.
Today we celebrate the day by showing Dad just how much they mean to us, and how we appreciate all the little (and big) things they do to enrich our lives. Whether that's through handmade gifts and cards, breakfast in bed, a few beers, a big day out...or even just letting them enjoy a day to themselves, there are lots of ways to show we care.
Head over to our Interiors website for some gorgeous gift ideas...
For those who enjoy a tipple, we have a great range of drinks cases, bottle openers, hip flasks and stylish leather trays.
And for those who like to keep things neat and tidy we have a beautiful range of lacquered wood and leather trays – perfect for organising whist adding a touch of style to any space.
Whilst we are taking a moment to celebrate the amazing men in our lives, let's draw attention to our gallery where we publish work for nearly twenty talented male artists (as well as a vast number of gifted female artists, of course), including sculptors Adam Binder, Adam Paddon, Fred Gordon, Geoff Jeal, George Bingham, Hamish Mackie, Michael James Talbot, Philip Jackson, Rudy Morandini, Simon Gudgeon, and William Montgomery; wildlife artists Anthony Dobson, Jake Winkle, and Justin Tew; land and seascape artist Gary Walton; and narrative artists Adam Kolakowski and Chris Ross Williamson.
