The third Sunday in June marks the annual celebration for many of America’s unsung heroes — dads.
Whether your father is single, married, or a stay-at-home pop, some recognition is in order. The Huffington Post recommends some Father’s Day gifts that are so bad, they’re good. Maybe dad would enjoy a wearable sleeping bag or even Meggings? (Yeah, those are man leggings).
Regardless of what you get for your favorite guy, here's the scoop on how Father’s Day begin, how families celebrate dads across the country, and some interesting facts and statistics about the holiday.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Father’s Day is the smallest of the American gift-giving holidays. This could be because Father’s Day is a more sentimental occasion. Over 60 percent of people forego buying dad presents and opt for a card.
If we were to measure parental appreciation in dollars, it seems as though sons and daughters spend about $7 billion less on Father’s Day than they do on Mother’s Day.
Figures released by the NRF predict that consumers will spend around $12.5 billion on gifts for Father’s Day, which falls on June 15th this year. This is significantly lower than the $19.9 billion shoppers were expected to spend on Mother’s Day.
The drop in spending for Father’s day can be attributed to the genre of gifts that are generally sought after to honor America’s patriarchs. AskMen.com points to affordable watches, grill sets, shaving kits, and even a Target Gift card as the top 25 Father’s Day gifts for 2014.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2013 there were 70.1 million fathers who were part of married-couple families with children under the age of 18. Over 200,000 of them are stay-at-home dads.
The Census Bureau also released data that indicates that 17 percent of single parents are men, meaning that there are over two million single fathers in the United States.
!<a href="http://s29.postimg.org/xnaiuy0k7/239270265_6f4179e1f9_z.jpg "A father and young boy leaning on 1980s car"" target="_blank">A father and young boy leaning on 1980s car
The holiday that the NRF refers to as a “blip on the radar" turns 42 this year. Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day an official US holiday in 1914, making it 58 years — a whole generation — older than Father’s Day. It wasn’t until 1972 that President Nixon declared Father’s Day an official U.S. Holiday.
Fathers have been celebrated in an unofficial capacity for over 100 years. The Governor of the State of Washington made Father’s Day official there in 1910. The first Father’s Day was attributed to a woman named Sonora Dodd of Spokane, WA, who encouraged local churches to honor the community’s fathers in June.
(Check out 6 Important Facts You Didn’t Know About Flag Day)
Sources:
Father's Day. (2009, January 1). History.com Staff. Retrieved June 2, 2014, from The History Channel
Father's Day. (2014, May 27). USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from USA.gov
Profile America Facts for Features. (2014, April 23). Facts for Features: Father's Day: June 15, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from U.S. Census Bureau
The LOC.GOV Wise Guide : Honor Your Father . . . At Least Once a Year. (2003, June 1). The LOC.GOV Wise Guide : Honor Your Father . . . At Least Once a Year. Retrieved June 4, 2014, from Loc.gov
Spending on Father’s Day to Top $12.5 Billion, According to NRF Survey.(2014, June 2). Kathy Grannis. National Retail Federation. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from NRF