6 Fun Facts About Father’s Day & Animal Dads
Have you ever wondered why Father’s Day is celebrated in June and who invented it? What penguins are like as parents? These bits of facts about the history of Father’s Day’s and who makes the best animal dads might surprise you!
Father’s Day Origin & Dates Around The World 🌎
1. It’s been celebrated since 1910. In 2021, that’s a 111 years ago!
2. It originated in America and was conceived by Sonora Smart Dodd, in Spokane, Washington.
While attending a Mother’s Day sermon with her father, Sonora felt inspired to create a special day to celebrate her father and other fathers too. William Jackson Smart was a single dad and Civil War veteran who raised 6 children after his wife died during childbirth. With his birthday on June 5th, June was the chosen month. Sonora and the local clergy launched a petition to create Father’s Day, and a few weeks later that year, in June 1910, Spokane Washington, Father’s Day was born. Sonora was 16 at the time and spent the next 60 years lobbying for Father’s Day to be officially recognized as a national holiday. The formal process involved three presidents. Calvin Coolidge pledged support in 1924; Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation in 1966; and Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
3. Many countries around the world celebrate father’s day on the thirds Sunday of June thanks to Sonora and her efforts, but not all.
In Australia, it’s the first Sunday of September. In Finland, it’s the second Sunday of November. In Germany, it’s the 40th day of Easter. In Thailand, it’s celebrated on the King’s birthday!
Notable Animal Dads 🏆.
In the animal world, every specie has a different parenting style. For reasons that would probably make more sense to lions, turtles and bears, the father is often not around after the baby is born and raising the baby animal is left to the mother. Not every animal shares this though, and these three dads from different habitats definitely deserve a beer.
Drumroll...
4. Emperor penguins.
Emperor penguins are devoted fathers. They begin their paternal duties as soon as the egg is laid. During the time while the mother penguin returns to the sea to feed for two months, the father’s job is to keep the egg safe and warm until she returns. This is no chill task as the harsh Antarctic weather is rough, even for penguins. In this climate, the father emperor penguin spends two long months protecting the egg with his pouch and doesn’t eat anything until the mother returns.
5. Seahorses.
Seahorses take challenging gender stereotypes to a different level. With seahorses, it is the dad who gets pregnant and gives birth. Baby seahorses are conceived when the mother seahorse deposits her eggs into the pouch on the front of the father’s tail. The father fertilizes the eggs and incubates them until little, fully formed seahorses are born. This can be anywhere from hundreds to 2000 little seahorses each time!
6. Mountain gorillas.
Mountain gorillas are pretty present in family life. They play several roles: defend female and young gorillas (their offsprings) from threats, help young gorillas socialize as well as support them during weaning. They find food for the clan, which is a serious task given that mountain gorillas have large appetites. They spend a lot of time playing and looking after their kids until they are teenagers.
There are many more awesome dads in the wildlife world not mentioned here. But for now, to all the dads, father penguins, seahorses and mountain gorillas reading, as well as the people who are like dads to us, we appreciate you.
Happy Fathers Day! 🐧🦍🦍