15 Fun Facts About Father's Day Trivia

Who founded Father's Day, holding the first celebration at a Spokane YMCA in 1910?

Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Arkansas and living in Spokane, Washington, organised the first Father's Day at the city's YMCA in 1910. Anna Jarvis is the founder of Mother's Day.

Father's Day was conceived in 1909 by a Spokane woman who heard a church sermon about which other holiday?

In 1909 Dodd heard a sermon at Central Methodist Episcopal Church about Anna Jarvis's Mother's Day, and told her pastor that fathers deserved an equivalent holiday.

The Civil War veteran who inspired Father's Day was a single parent raising how many children alone?

William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran, raised six children alone after being widowed — Sonora and her five brothers. Watching him do it is what prompted her campaign.

The first Father's Day celebration took place in 1910 at a YMCA in which US city?

The first Father's Day was held at the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910, in eastern Washington state.

Which US president signed the law making Father's Day a permanent national holiday in 1972?

Richard Nixon signed Father's Day into law as a permanent national holiday on April 24, 1972 — 62 years after the first celebration. Lyndon B. Johnson had issued the first presidential proclamation honouring fathers in 1966.

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, Father's Day falls on which day?

Both countries keep Father's Day on the third Sunday in June. The second Sunday in May is Mother's Day in the United States.

In Spain, Portugal and Italy, Father's Day is held on 19 March — the feast day honouring which figure?

These Catholic countries attach Father's Day to 19 March, the feast of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary. Italians call it Festa del papà and the Portuguese Dia do Pai.

In Australia and New Zealand, Father's Day is celebrated on which day?

Both countries hold Father's Day on the first Sunday in September, which falls in early spring in the southern hemisphere rather than the northern-hemisphere June date.

In Germany, Father's Day (Vatertag) is observed on which Christian feast, always a Thursday?

German Vatertag shares its date with Ascension Day, a public holiday. A common custom is for groups of men to make a hiking trip pulling a Bollerwagen handcart loaded with beer, wine and regional food.

Thailand's National Father's Day falls on 5 December, the birthday of which late monarch?

Thailand set its Father's Day on 5 December, the birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned from 1946 until his death in 2016.

In Taiwan, Father's Day is marked on the eighth day of the eighth month because that number sounds like which Mandarin word?

The Mandarin word for eight is bā, close enough to 爸 (bà), meaning 'pa' or 'dad', that 8/8 became the Taiwanese Father's Day.

In Brazil, Dia dos Pais — Father's Day — falls in which month?

Brazil keeps Dia dos Pais on the second Sunday in August, unlike the June date used in the United States and Britain.

Nepal honours fathers on Kushe Aunsi, a day named for which lunar phase?

Aunsi is the new moon day in the Hindu lunar calendar, so Kushe Aunsi shifts around late August or early September from year to year.

In South Korea, mothers and fathers are honoured together on 8 May under what name?

Rather than separate observances, South Korea marks Parents' Day on 8 May. It is not a public holiday, and is framed around the traditional value of filial piety.

Which US president travelled to Spokane in 1916 to speak at a Father's Day celebration?

Woodrow Wilson spoke at a Spokane Father's Day event in 1916 and wanted the day made official, but Congress would not act. Calvin Coolidge urged national observance in 1924 without issuing a proclamation.