Over the following years, local Father's Day celebrations sprang up across the United States. One 1914 letter to the New York Times sarcastically suggested that if Americans were to adopt an official Father's Day, they might as well create holidays celebrating every member of the family, including Uncle's Day, Maiden Aunty's Day, and Household Pet Day. (New York Times)Another common criticism of the idea of an official national Father's Day was the holiday's perceived commercialism. As historian Timothy Marr explained in his entry on Father's Day in "American Masculinities: A Historical Encyclopedia," many American men saw Father's Day as "a commercial gimmick to sell more products— often paid for by the father himself." Dodd died in 1978 at the age of 96, having seen her six-decade-long dream of a permanent national Father's Day become reality.

Source: New York Times June 16, 2024 13:04 UTC