Growing up, we watched superhero stories and cartoons. Everyone wants a superhero in their life. But the real and first superhero in a child’s life is their father.
For each person, the father is a symbol of the strength that unites the whole family. He works tirelessly day and night to provide for the economic and moral needs of the whole family.
Whenever we are stuck with a problem, the first person we think of is our father. He is the central element of society and presents himself as the breadwinner of the family, someone we can trust. Out of respect for fathers around the world, we celebrate this day. This year it falls on June 19. Father’s Day in Catholic Europe is celebrated in memory of Saint Joseph.
In 1907, in December, a catastrophic disaster happened in Monongah, West Virginia, claiming the lives of 361 men. Nearly 250 children were orphaned. A woman named Grace Golden Clayton, whose father was among the dead, proposed to the government that Father’s Day be celebrated in honor of the dead. That is how Father’s Day started in the U.S. and then spread around the world.
On this day, children show love and respect for their father by giving him gifts and cards. Some educational institutions organize cultural programs that bring students and their fathers together. Television and radio stations broadcast many Father’s Day programs. Social networks are flooded with people posting pictures with their fathers.
In our family, my brother and I take dad for a day out with us and shop for him. We give him a card expressing our gratitude to have him in our lives and telling him how much we love him. More than gifts, it’s the emotions that matter to my father. He always gets emotional when I write a message for him on his birthday or on Father’s Day.
Today, with their packed schedules, people may not be able to express their love and support for their father very often. So we use Father’s Day to honor fathers for their positive contributions.
When the world flocks around their mothers on the first Sunday in May to celebrate Mother’s Day, dads are passionately involved in making sure Mother’s Day celebrations go according to plan. So why is a day dedicated to fathers not given the same respect? While Mother’s Day has evolved into an official holiday, Father’s Day seems to be an afterthought.
While on Father’s Day, we honor fatherhood and the love and support that comes with it, that respect should not be just limited to one day; it should be for every day. We should wake up in the morning with infinite gratitude to our father for giving us the happy life we live, for sheltering us from evils, for flooding us with love, and for being a system to support and guide us in life’s journey. We must appreciate their role in our lives every day of the year.
For more content on SEEMA.com celebrating dear ol’ dad, check out For Our Father, Who Art at Home
