Today is Father's Day. I didn't grow up knowing that there is such a special day in the year for fathers. Understandably, it is not part of our indigenous tradition as Filipinos. That's not to say I don't like the idea. In fact, given that the wife/mother is the central figure in Filipino homes, I am flattered by all the attention given to me by everyone in the family on this special day.
Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington, is credited for conceiving the idea of Father’s Day while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. She wanted a special day to honor her widowed father who was left to raise his six children on a farm. Spokane’s mayor chose a day in June for this purpose, because it was the birth month of Dodd's father. President Lyndon Johnson issued in 1966 the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers every third Sunday in June. However, it was President Richard Nixon who signed in 1972 the public law that made celebration of Father's Day permanent.
The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. -Henry Ward Beecher
* * *
When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. -Mark Twain
* * *
It is a wise father that knows his own child. -William Shakespeare
* * *
That is the thankless position of the father in the family - the provider for all, and the enemy of all. -J. August Strindberg
* * *
It is much easier to become a father than to be one. -Kent Nerburn
* * *
Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development. -David Gottesman
* * *
A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father. -Gabriel García Márquez
* * *
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection. -Sigmond Freud
* * *
You know, fathers just have a way of putting everything together. -Erika Cosby
* * *
A father is a banker provided by nature. -French Proverb
(Photo credit: www.sxc.hu) Print
No comments:
Post a Comment