Process and Father's Day
The establishment of Father's Day as a national holiday was definitely influenced by Mother's Day. On July 5, 1908 a West Virginia church sponsored the first event to honor fathers. This was also influenced by the death of 362 men in the previous December's explosions at the Fairmont Coal Company mine in Monongah, West Virginia. It was a onetime event.
The next year, Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane Washington, one of six children raised by a widower, successfully canvassed local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials for the purpose of establishing a day to honor fathers. Washington State held the first statewide Father's Day on June 19, 1910.
In the 20's and 30's there was a movement in New York state to replace Mother's and Father's Day with Parents' Day. Enter the Depression, which influenced retailers to rekindle the idea of establishing Father's Day. Ultimately they played the patriotic card and promoted Father's Day as a means of honoring the troops and supporting the war effort. The retailers wanted a day that would be a "second Christmas" for men. They promoted goods such as neckties, hats, socks, pipes and tobacco, golf clubs and other sporting goods, and greeting cards.
In 1972, in the middle of a hard-fought presidential re-election campaign, Richard Nixon signed a proclamation making Father's Day a federal holiday at last. Today, economists estimate that Americans
spend more than $1 billion each year on Father's Day gifts. I hope you fathers got your little something from that $1 billion. Father's Day is a wonderful part of our culture.
In the Iliad, the goddess Athena told Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, to "Go find your father!" A quest for father symbolizes a search for one's character. If we think of "consciousness" as a synonym for "character," we may very well turn this heavily commercialized venture into something truly spiritual and make a win-win for everyone. This process of life is seen in the growth from a seed idea (in 1908) into something that is now largely enjoyed by our society.
Spirit is very much evident in this action. So happy Father's Day men! We are depending on you finding your character and doing your part to make this a better world.
Affirm: Today I will quest more deeply for who I am so my gift to life will be more valuable and worthwhile.
