We Thank Our Fathers for Their Love and Efforts!
On June 21st Father’s Day, we thank one of the people who take transferring his knowledge to his kids as his duty, doesn’t forget to teach a life lesson any chance he gets and wants to see his kids stand on their own two feet.
For William, father to six children
As with most special days, June 21st father’s day is also celebrated on this particular day for a reason. In June, 190, Sonora Smart Dodd living in Spokane, Washington, wished there was a day for fathers as there was for mothers. The reason for that was, she wanted to thank her father and other fathers like him. Her civil war veteran father William Jackson Smart raised his six children by himself after her wife died during the birth of their last child. Now, of course, this was not an easy job. First celebrated within their small circle, Sonora’s Father’s Day idea was accepted in the whole country in time. As time went by, the idea of father’s day started to be seen as a chance to strengthen the bond between fathers and children. This day was also the manifestation of families were not in just one form. It would also be a thank you for those who duly perform their fatherhood duties. Thus, in 1972 the USA President Richard Nixon accepted June 21st father’s day to be a national holiday.
Like many special days, Father’s day also became a day in which buying a gift is mandatory and there are ads all around. However, you don’t have to follow this path. Just like the fact that each relationship is different, let the way you thank him and the choice of gift for him be special to you. You can prepare gifts that remind your bond with your father and refer your memories that are special to your family.
Here are the things you can do to thank your father!
- If you had enough with the ads that are common and imposed on us, then this idea is just for you! We are home due to Covid19. You may not be with your dad in the same house and thus cannot see him. You can leave a video message for him telling your feelings by going org perhaps this time you can tell a story or fairy tale he told you as you were a kid to him. Life is a cycle after all!
- On these isolated and stay-at-home days, you can write to your father a letter instead of buying a gift!
- If you have a knack for handiwork, you can decorate t-shirts you both wear the least the same way and make a father-child t-shirt!
- Breakfast in bed is not just for the mothers, right? Tomatoes, cucumbers, tea and toast! Delicious!
4 letters 2 syllables: where does the word ”baba*” come from?
The word baba was formed from the sounds babies make when they are at starting to speak stage. In many languages, the word baba is used similarly. Though its first meaning is “man who has a child” another meaning of the word is “protector, someone with fatherhood sentiments”.
Now, fathers can express their love for their children more openly. So their communication with their child becomes stronger. Women coming to the mind first when thinking about child-rearing and housework is also changing. Now, fathers also want to do housework. By this way, we can see how important each person in the family is.
Nowadays, in which we are separated from each other and feel the distance stronger, on June 21st Father’s Day, the biggest gift is perhaps a heartfelt hug..
Turkish4 family wishes all fathers a happy Father’s Day, and wishes you to meet them on days full of conversations and hugs!
*baba means ‘’dad’’ in Turkish.
Translated by: Esra Nur Elmas
June 2020
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