(MNS) – One of the more noteworthy societal shifts in the second half of the 20th Century was the growing number of single-parent families. Whereas single-parent homes were an anomaly during the first half of the 1900s, by the turn of the century the percentage of single-parent homes had grown substantially.
One of the common misconceptions about single-parent homes is they all are headed by women. According to a 2009 report from the U.S. Census Bureau titled Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007, an overwhelming majority of the 13.7 million single parents across the country are women. However, 16% of single parents are fathers, a figure that equates to roughly 2.2 million men serving as custodial parents across the country.
For those households, Father’s Day is a day that bears extraordinary significance. Initially proposed in 1909 by Mrs. John B. Dodd, Father’s Day was actually rooted in Dodd’s own single-parent home.
Dodd’s father, William Smart, was a Civil War veteran widowed when his wife died in childbirth in Washington state. Left to raise his six children on his own, Smart’s perseverance and selflessness eventually became the root of what is now Father’s Day.
Though it’s common to assume Father’s Day is a North American tradition, days honouring fathers are actually held all across the globe. In the United States, Father’s Day has been celebrated on the third Sunday in June since 1966. However, global celebrations take place throughout the year:
– March 19 in Bolivia, Honduras, Spain, and Italy;
– May 5 in Portugal;
– May 8 in South Korea;
– first Sunday in June in Lithuania;
– June 5 in Denmark
– second Sunday in June: Austria and Belgium;
– June 17 in El Salvador;
– third Sunday in June in Argentina, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Ireland, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa, United Kingdom and Venezuela;
– June 21 in Guatemala
– last Sunday in June in Haiti.
Metro Newspaper Service
