雜誌精選》88節只有臺灣在過？看6月父親節由來

雜誌精選》88節只有臺灣在過？看6月父親節由來（示意圖/shutterstock達志影像）

令人期待的暑假即將來臨，一年一度的父親節也緊接在後，在臺灣，父親節取自諧音「爸爸」，因此節日訂於每年8月8日（In Taiwan, Father's Day is celebrated on August 8, as the date sounds like the word for "father" when read aloud in Chinese.），但其實全世界包含美國、英國、日本、新加坡等76個國家，父親節日期是每年「6月的第三個星期日」（third Sunday in June）。本次就讓我們來認識6月父親節背後的故事與緣由。

Credit for originating the holiday is generally given to Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, whose father, a Civil War veteran, raised her and her five siblings after their mother died in childbirth.

父親節的誕生源自於美國華盛頓州斯波坎的杜德夫人。她的父親是一名南北戰爭的退伍老兵，在她母親難產去世後，一肩扛起養育她及五位兄弟姊妹的重責大任。

She is said to have had the idea in 1909 while listening to a sermon on Mother's Day. Sonora tried to establish an official equivalent to Mother's Day for male parents. She went to local churches, the YMCA, shopkeepers and government officials to drum up support for her idea, and she was successful: Washington State celebrated the nation's first statewide Father's Day on June 19, 1910, the month of the birthday of Dodd's father.

據說杜德夫人在1909年的母親節聆聽一場佈道會時突然有一個念頭，她試圖爲男性家長建立一個相當於母親節的官方節日。她走訪當地教會、YMCA、店家以及政府機關等，爲設立國定父親節的想法尋求支持，並獲得成功。華盛頓州在1910年6月19日迎來了美國史上第一個父親節，同時也是杜德夫人父親出生的月份。

In 1924 U.S. President Calvin Coolidge gave his support to the observance of Father's Day, and in 1966 Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson issued a proclamation that recognized the day. It became a national holiday in 1972, when Pres. Richard Nixon signed legislation designating the third Sunday of June as Father's Day.

1924年，美國總統柯立芝支持這項節慶；1966年總統詹森發表聲明承認父親節這天節日。直到1972年，總統尼克森正式簽署法案，將每年6月的第三個星期日正式定爲美國的父親節。

On May 1, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Proclamation 4127, which declared Father's Day as a national holiday, with the first official celebration on June 18, 1972. "Let each American make this Father's Day an occasion for renewal of the love and gratitude we bear to our fathers, increasing and enduring through all the years." he wrote in the document.

美國總統尼克森在1972年5月1日簽署第4127法案，宣佈父親節爲國定假日，並於同年6月18日首次正式慶祝。詹森在法案裡頭寫道：「讓每位美國人都可以在父親節這個場合裡，重溫我們對父執輩們逐年漸增的愛與感激。」

Although it was originally largely a religious holiday, Father's Day has been celebrated much the same way as Mother's Day by sending greeting cards or giving gifts. Some observe the custom of wearing a red rose to indicate that one's father is living or a white rose to indicate that he is deceased. Other males—for example, grandfathers or uncles who have assumed parenting roles—are often also honored on the day.

雖然父親節最初是一個宗教性節日，但透過贈送感恩卡片或禮物來慶祝父親節的方式與母親節頗爲相似。有些人也會遵照習俗，若父親仍健在身上就配戴紅玫瑰；已過世則別上白玫瑰。其他像是祖父、叔伯的父執輩角色，也會在這天一併感謝。

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