If you are a father and are not encircled by your children today then it means that your children do not know that its father’s day today. Although celebrations were not as large as they were on Mother’s Day, children remained busy the entire week buying gifts for their fathers. Countries around the world celebrate Father’s Day on different dates. However, in most parts of the world including Pakistan, the day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June, which is today. Father’s Day is celebrated every year to honour fathers worldwide. While many celebrate the day today, many still do not know about the day and its celebrations. While many show their affection for their father today, many are still to be made aware that there exists a day when they can address their father on a rather love-filled note.
Father’s Day is a day of commemoration and celebration of one of the two pillars of parenthood – father. The day reminds one to thank the institution which sheltered and fed, and cherish all the good things that one’s father provided his children with.
It is about expressing gratitude to one’s fathers and to make that one day so special that the past year with its vicissitudes is forgotten. Father’s Day is a comparatively new trend in Pakistan. The celebrations for the day gained popularity in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, while many people in remote areas are slowly getting to know about the concept. Shopkeepers set up gift stalls on this special day. Different TV channels and radio stations organise special programmes in connection with Father’s Day with active participation of children from across the country. Newspapers make special features, explaining the day’s rationale, while different NGOs organise seminars and walks to honour fathers today. Children express their love and affection to their fathers in unique styles and buy gifts of different kinds. They thronged Liberty Market, Moon market, Defence (Y) Block, Ichhra markets among other in the city to buy their gifts.
A Punjab University (PU) student Huma told Pakistan Today, “My father is my world where I live in peace and prosperity. I saw many gifts but I need some thing special for my father.” A 12-year-old girl Noreen, sharing her views with Pakistan Today, said, “We are seven brothers and sisters and my father has a limited source of income, but he took care of each one of us in an excellent manner. He gives us a lot of love and affection.”
A son, Kashif Javaid said, “People love their fathers only for pocket money. They spend their time with their friends in a playground, watching movies and chatting on mobiles. We love our father only in words; reality is very different. Father is a person who works hard for the completion of our desires. However, we do not think about it.” He said, “Firstly, it is a western concept, but since our religion teaches us to respect parents and do not speak loudly before them, there is no harm celebrating this day. Every day is father’s day in Islam; there is not only one day to respect fathers and express your love to them but the entire year. If we act upon Islamic teachings, there is no need to celebrate these kinds of special days.” A sales manager, Rehan Hamid, said, “Father plays a vital role in the future building of a baby. He is the man who remains outside the home and bears the fatigue for the good future of his child.” University of Engineering and Technology (UET) student, Momina, while finding a gift for her father in Moon Market, said, “My father played a vital role in my life and I really love him. I want to make his day special by giving him a beautiful gift.” Atique said, “My father has always been a source of inspiration for me. I have learnt my basic lessons of life from him,” while recalling the time he spent with his late father. He said his father passed away two years ago but his valuable advises such as, “There is always a vacancy on the top,” would never die.
Going back in 1909, the idea for creating a day for children to honour their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.
