He's the strongest, kindest, and smartest guy you know. He's the co-leader of the family. Who is this great guy? Well, it happens to be your dad, and countless other dads like him around the world.
How can we celebrate such a great guy who does so much for us? Americans, Taiwanese, and people from many countries around the world celebrate a holiday called Father's Day.
Nobody is quite sure how Father's Day became worldwide. Some people claim that it began 4,000 years ago when a young boy named, Elmesu made his father a card out of clay. However, the most popular story in the United States is that it became a holiday in 1916. In that year, a young girl named Sonora Louise Smart Dodd wrote to the American president, Woodrow Wilson, asking him to create a national holiday which commemorated fathers. Smith's own father was a Civil War veteran and a single parent who raised six children.
While the day is now celebrated worldwide, different cultures celebrate the holiday at different times and with different customs. For example, in the United States, we choose to celebrate the holiday in June. This year the day is the 16th. In Taiwan, however, Father's Day always is on August 8th.
What can you do for father's day? How about make dad some breakfast in bed, play a game with him, make him a card, buy him a tie, or give him some flowers (roses are the preferred flowers for dads).
Here is an excerpt from my favorite Father's Day poem called, "Father's Day" by Mary Frances Bogle:
"Over the years
As we grow old,
We remember our father
So brave and bold."