Mother's Day became a national holiday in 1914. Father's Day? Not until 1972. It wasn't for lack of trying.
When Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, proposed a day to honor fathers in 1909, the idea was met with widespread ridicule. Men dismissed it as too sentimental, and effeminate, and resented the implication that fatherhood needed the same treatment as motherhood.
Newspapers piled on with satirical columns proposing holidays for brothers-in-law and leftover turkey. Critics saw it as a naked commercial grab, noting that fathers would probably end up paying for their own gifts anyway.
Even Anna Jarvis, the woman who championed Mother's Day, opposed Father's Day on the grounds that it would be commercialized as was her holiday. It took more than six decades before Richard Nixon finally signed it into law.
More than a century later, Father's Day is firmly on the calendar. But it remains the underdog holiday. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $33.5 billion on Mother's Day in 2024 compared to $22.4 billion on Father's Day, a gap of more than 50 percent. About 40 million fewer greeting cards are exchanged on Father's Day than on Mother's Day. Participation rates tell the same story: 88 percent of consumers celebrate Mother's Day versus 79 percent for Father's Day.
So do fathers mind? Apparently not much. According to YouGov polling, 58 percent of dads say what they most want on Father's Day is simply time with their children. Another 42 percent would be happy with a meal at home. About a third prefer no gifts at all.
Pew Research confirms the broader picture: 81 percent of fathers say being a parent is enjoyable all or most of the time, and 79 percent find it rewarding.