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“Today is Father’s Day in France and in the U.S.” I told my Moroccan friend on the phone in Arabic yesterday.
This is a strange and foreign concept in many places in the world—a day to celebrate fathers. It’s also not celebrated on the same date around the world, just like Mother’s Day.
Once again, yesterday, I almost forgot that it was Father’s Day in my home country, the United States. Here in Spain, where our family lives, this holiday was on March 19. It’s long passed, and there are no visual or audible reminders to help jog my memory about my American holiday.
No store signs, no TV commercials, nothing.
Thankfully, something popped up on Facebook yesterday that woke me up to the reality of my American culture. I quickly checked on the internet to see if it was also Father’s Day in France. Yes it was! I reminded my husband to call his father to wish him “Happy Father’s Day!”
“Really?” Vincent said. “I had no idea!”
I laughed.
Yesterday, curious, I put on my cultural awareness glasses and started digging. Every question, every wonder is an opportunity to learn something new about other cultures in the world—growing in my cultural awareness, understanding, and appreciation.
My Cultural Discovery
The first Father’s Day celebration in the USA was held on June 19, 1910. It was the first country to observe this holiday on the third Sunday of June. Many countries like France, the U.K., Canada, India, China, Japan, the Philippines, and South Africa have also adopted this date.
However, all nations don’t celebrate on that same date.
For example, Spain, Portugal, and Italy all celebrate Father’s Day on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is the patron saint of fathers. Interesting.
In Germany, Father’s Day is celebrated on Ascension Day.
In the Nordic countries of Scandinavia, they originally celebrated Father’s Day on the American date of the third Sunday of June. However, in 1949, they decided to move this celebration to the second Sunday in November. They wanted it to be placed half a year away from Mother’s Day. It was also chosen during that period in order to increase sales during a quiet shopping period before Christmas.
Another country that celebrates Father’s Day on a different day is Taiwan. There, they celebrate it on August 8, because the Chinese word for eight is “ba,” and the colloquial word for father is “ba-ba.” This designates the eighth day of the eighth month as “daddy.”
Office Holidays
Isn’t cultural learning fascinating?!
On the Holiday Spot, I found this nifty chart with different countries and different dates.
Not Same Days, Not Same Ways
Not only is Father’s Day not celebrated on the same day around the world, it is also not celebrated in the same way around the world.
In some countries, people buy or make gifts (neckties, electronics, or games), send cards, or call their fathers to wish them a special day. Others take their fathers out for a meal at a restaurant.
“For Festa del Papa in Italy, people prepare a St. Joseph doughnut—a tasty treat covered with cream and jam.“
cia-france.com
This same French article said, “In the US, the custom is for employees who wear a suit to work to leave their ties at home on the Friday before Father’s Day, just to be more relaxed.”
I am an American, but I have never heard this about my culture. Does anyone out there know if this is true?
It made me smile and chuckle out loud.
I don’t know if yesterday was Father’s Day in your part of the world. It wasn’t here in our host country, Spain. However, it was Father’s Day in my father’s country and my father-in-law’s country.
It’s important to celebrate our fathers (and the fathers of our children) on the date designated by our country and our culture. However, there is never a day that we shouldn’t be thankful for our fathers, our grandfathers, and those who have been father-figures in our lives.
Happy Father’s Day to all of you dads out there—wherever you are and no matter when your “official” celebration date may be!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—”THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
Do you know of other holidays that fall on different dates in different countries?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
