Father’s Day Was a Tough Sell

Mother’s Day became a national holiday in 1914.

Father’s Day had to wait until 1972.

It was not for lack of effort. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, first proposed a day to honor fathers in 1909. She wanted to recognize her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran who raised six children after his wife died.

But the idea did not catch on quickly.

At the time, many people thought a holiday for fathers sounded silly or too sentimental. Some men disliked the idea because they thought it made fatherhood seem soft or overly emotional. Others saw it as unnecessary. Mothers, they believed, deserved flowers and cards. Fathers were expected to be steady, practical and quiet about it.

Newspapers mocked the idea, too. Some satirical columns joked that if fathers got a holiday, then brothers-in-law, bosses, and leftover turkey might deserve one as well. Critics also worried the day would become another excuse for stores to sell gifts.

Even Anna Jarvis, who helped create Mother’s Day, opposed Father’s Day. Jarvis had already become frustrated by how commercial Mother’s Day had become, and she feared Father’s Day would follow the same path.

She was not entirely wrong.

By the time President Richard Nixon signed Father’s Day into law in 1972, the holiday had already become tied to cards, neckties, tools, sporting goods, and backyard cookouts. Still, it had taken more than six decades for the country to formally recognize fathers with a national holiday.

Today, Father’s Day is firmly on the calendar, but it remains the underdog of parent holidays.

According to National Retail Federation figures cited for 2024, Americans spent far more on Mother’s Day than on Father’s Day. Greeting card numbers tell a similar story, with millions more cards exchanged for mothers than for fathers. More people also report celebrating Mother’s Day than Father’s Day.

That gap may say less about how families feel and more about how the holidays developed. Mother’s Day was embraced earlier and became more deeply tied to flowers, brunches, cards, and public displays of appreciation. Father’s Day, by contrast, has often been quieter and more casual.

Many fathers seem fine with that.

Polling has found that many dads say what they want most is simply time with their children. A meal at home, a phone call, a visit, a backyard cookout, or a relaxed afternoon often means more than an expensive gift. Some fathers say they do not want gifts at all.

That fits the broader picture of fatherhood. Pew Research has found that most fathers describe parenting as enjoyable and rewarding. The holiday may have been hard to sell at first, but the role it honors has never been small.

Father’s Day began as an idea that people laughed at.

More than a century later, it may still be less flashy than Mother’s Day. But for many families, the meaning is simple: show up, say thank you, and spend some time with Dad.

That is probably what he wanted anyway.