Happy Father’s Day 2009

By M H Ahssan

Father's Day is a day honoring fathers, celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 52 of the world's countries and on other days elsewhere. Father's Day is a celebration inaugurated in the early twentieth century to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting, and to honour and commemorate fathers and forefathers. Father's Day is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide and typically involves gift-giving, special dinners to fathers, and family-oriented activities.

The first observance of Father's Day is believed to have been held on July 5, 1908 in a church located in Fairmont, West Virginia. In any society, be it modern, medieval or ancient, fathers have had a significant position. There may be several relationships in a child’s life but not a single one of these can be a perfect substitute of a father-child relationship. He is a guide, a philosopher and more than that, a dear and most reliable friend of the child after a certain age. A child is being helped by his father to set his or her aim in life. Then he helps us in selecting the just ways of attaining our goals in life. Again, when someone gets too tired of the weariness and doldrums of life, his/her father is always there to offer the shoulders of a friend where we can rest for a while.

There is every reason of celebrating such an important relationship and Father’s Day has been designed for this purpose. It was an ancient practice of worshiping ancestors including father and mother. This tradition was maintained by the following civilizations. In the modern society, people started celebrating Mother’s Day first. Gradually, the civilization understood the necessity of Father’s Day too. Although the efforts were made in the early 20th century but it was in 1970s only when Father’s Day was recognized officially in the US by President Nixon. Gradually most of the countries acknowledged Father’s Day and started celebrating fatherhood. �

Now the question is that how much significance does Father’s Day get in the modern society. Firstly, while measuring its significance, we should not compare it with Mother’s Day because it is a different occasion. A mother perform the divine right of giving birth to a child and then of nurturing him or her. This is obvious that mothers will get the special treatment. At the same time, it is also true that a father performs an important role in nurturing and raising a child and this role should also be acknowledged. In today’s society, we acknowledge this responsibility through Father’s Day.

The significance of Father’s Day is related directly to the position of a father in the family as well as in the society. Every child needs both father and mother in order to get a good mental health. In the primary stages, both father and mother remain responsible for taking some important decisions related to the education and growing up of the child. At the present time, most of the countries have patriarchal societies and because of this the fathers play the leading role in taking the above mentioned decisions.

The lifestyle of a father affects his child. If the child is a boy, he will surely try and adapt some important parts of his father’s life-style. If a father can set good examples of leading life in a healthy way, the child is bound to follow the same. Anyone, with good ideas, proper education and a healthy lifestyle, is a treasure for every society. He can not only lead his life properly but can also help others to do the same and can shape the society in a positive manner. In this way a father can contribute in the development of a whole society.

All these and many more make a father very significant in today’s modern society and because of this, celebrating this relationship and this responsibility is very significant today. Like any other part of the world, India also celebrates Father’s Day with full enthusiasm. This enthusiasm is well expressed by different kind of gifts that are sent on Father’s Day.