In Hindu tradition, Father’s Day coincides with the new moon day, or Amavasya, during late August. In Thailand it is customary to honor thy father with a Canna flower. And in Germany, Vatertag is celebrated on the Thursday forty days following Easter. In the United States, Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday in June, however this was not always the case. What is the disastrous event that inspired the holiday? And what’s up with the incorrect placement of the apostrophe in the holiday’s name?
Perhaps inspired by the first celebration of Mother’s Day a few months prior, Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton organized the very first observance of Father’s Day on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia to honor the lives of the 210 fathers lost in the Monongah Mining disaster. Unfortunately, two years later Mrs. Clayton was upstaged by Sonora Dodd who organized her own Father’s Day celebration and petitioned Congress to establish the day as a national holiday. Ms. Dodd’s efforts finally paid off when in 1972 President Richard Nixon officially signed into law an annual day honoring fathers.
Whoever created the first petition to establish the holiday was not much of a grammarian. The name is understood as a plural possession as in “day belonging to Fathers:” therefore the apostrophe should follow the /s/ and read “Fathers’ Day.” Ms. Dodd makes proper use of the apostrophe in her original documents but somewhere along the way the punctuation was placed incorrectly denoting singular possession as in “day belonging to Father” – “Father’s Day.” The grammatical misstep continues to don cards, mugs, and t-shirts to this day.
Father Time has offered many iconic father figures throughout the years. Our Founding Fathers enacted the framework of this country’s government by establishing the United States Constitution and declaring independence from Great Britain by signing the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
On a darker note, perhaps George Lucas was dropping a hint in Star Wars Episode IV by naming the antagonist Darth Vader. While the exact origin of the term ‘darth’ does not exist, many sci-fi theorists believe the literal translation is ‘dark.’ However, another theory holds that the term is a contraction of “dark lord of the sith.” What we do know is the use of ‘vader’ is quite telling. Vader is Dutch meaning ‘father.’ The German word for father is ‘vater,’ however the Dutch pronunciation is most commonly used. Perhaps we should not have been surprised when we heard Darth Vader speak those immortal words to Luke: “I am your father.”
Can you think of some more iconic father figures? Share them in the comments below.
Interestingly, in Spanish it’s “día del padre” (literally “day of the father”), perhaps as a direct translation from English “Father’s Day”? I’ve always thought of it as referring to some father as a model, or how each one of us’s father is some sort of role model.
On the other hand, the French use “fête des pères” (literally “day of the fathers”), perhaps correcting it back to the original?
And gosh, shouldn’t we be over this “first post” silliness already?
Interesting article. It is amazing that something as little apostrophe could make a huge difference.
Skillet Fan, I would have been more impressed if you had spotted the punctuation errors in the above article, rather than being the first to comment…
At the first and penultimate paragraphs, the term “however” should be preceded by a semi-colon and followed by a comma if the intended meaning is “nevertheless” or “in spite of that”; however, if the intended meaning is “in whatever manner” or “regardless of how”, then it may be preceded by a comma but not by a semicolon, and should not be followed by a comma.
Uhh… Mothers Day is roughly one month before Father’s Day. Either way, this is interesting!
In my opinion, Barney is another prominent father figure for many worldwide – young and old alike. With his big, fuzzy purple-ness and the myriad of catchy showtunes he bellows from his cavernous mouth, he remains a great source of comfort for us in times of peril.
I love you, Barney.
As long as we’re filing down apostrophes and speaking in tongues, we should make a slight correction.
The Germans always capitalize the initial letter of nouns, thus it’s Vater in German, while the Dutch are not masochistic enough to do the same, so it should be vader in their language.
Why do you hate your dad?
the darth vader thing was quite informative though i’m no star wars fan. BUT STILL!
second comment…. :-/
interesting…
like the bit about darth vader (dark father)
want to kill person who changed the grammar
Father Christmas, the Father of the Bride, Victor Frankenstein–the father of his monster, Papa Smurf and Benjamin Franklin–not just a founding father but the Father of Electricity.
This has always been “my” Father’s Day; but for the all the men with children collectively, it is Fathers’ Day. The card I purchase (or create) is only for MY Father; memorabilia, in my thinking, is something I purchase just for my Dad – it is his alone, from his child – it is Dad’s.
If you are referring to the day that you are honoring YOUR father then it should be (your) Father’s day. So, I believe that either one is correct but who am I to say, right?
Awesome 
Second Comment Yea!
hahahaha
An interesting filed to investigate would be the cultural origins of ‘mother country’ as in Mother Russia, and ‘fatherland’ as with Germany. Britain is a mother-country – what is the USA? Some countries are both, I believe, perhaps in different contexts.
cool. i kinda figured out the “fathers’” and “father’s” mistake from before second comment! yay
Interesting! Haven’t heard any theories behind this celebration..and good to know the grammatical view of it.. now I know when ‘fathers’ day’ started to misguided become ‘father’s day’.. thanks for bringing up this actual topic!
Howard Cunningham
H.I. McDunnough (Nicholas Cage, Raising Arizona)
Super Duper 2nd comment yeaaaaaaaaaa
Thank you for the grammer lesson about Fathers’ Day. I’m happy that I learned something so early in the day….thanks again.
Good to know…i defently wont b making that mistake again!!
Hmmm, Josef Stalin, who was a father to all soviets. Ahh, I really miss the old days…
God Father!
Interesting read here…
Happy Fathers’ Day Dad <3
I’ve always thought that Darth Vader was from “In” vader. Like Darth Sidious is from “In” sidious
I’m going to go all Star Wars geek on you here: I don’t know that anything definitive has ever been said, but the evidence points to Lucas NOT knowing Vader was going to be Luke’s father at the time Star Wars was written and filmed. The primary piece being that the first draft(s) of TESB make no reference to this.
This goes to show how many people can be obliviously wrong. Keep the correct information flowing!
second comment wooo!!!!:) lol with thanks to my family and friends
Maybe the current spelling is right. There’s only one real Father that matters on Father’s Day – I hope the rest of the dads are following his example! ^^
To Alan:
Fatherland and Motherland – it’s really tricky; e.g. in Polish, the word morphologically is – and means- “Fatherland”, but it is a feminine noun
Amazing informative lead into Star Wars discussion! I honestly
enjoy all angles of the discussion. From the historical to the socially relevant geek turn.
I work in a very “tech saavy” town & this enhances my conversation transition from social relevance to entertainment so smoothly, I’m in awe. You’ve made my geeky, nerdy day supreme again!
Happy Fathers’ Day Pop! Reading Readers Digest every week & on plane trips, most epic idea ever!
Thanks for the gift you gave us on father’s day. Even on father’s day too!!
Thanks for both the lesson and the info. Just more of the latter: In Spain we celebrate Father’s o Fathers’ Day (as you like it) on March 19, St. Joseph’s day, as he was the father of Jesus. Don’t know about other Spanish speaking countries, though.
What I know is that Father’s Day origins from a pagan tradition many,many years ago.Their celebrating it to honor Joseph as the father of Jesus (same thing with Mother’s day which is to honor Mary as the mother of Jesus). This is the first time I heard the story mentioned above.
Father Time
i Am YoUr FaThEr!
HEY THANK YOU FOR THE INFO!
I thought both the noun and the object had to be plural for the apostrophe to come after the “s”?? Since “day” is referring to one singular day, I think “Father’s Day” is correct? If the holiday took place over the entire weekend, then it would be Fathers’ Days. No?
To Bob Madden: I was always under the impression that the books were written long before the movies were ever filmed. Not to mention that I’m sure Lucas did some research in naming his characters. It is said that a lot of Lucas’ story was fashioned from a combination of foreign heroes/legends, eastern cultures such as the way of the Samurai warriors, and even some religious/spiritual sources. (How’s THAT for Star Wars Geek?! LOL!) No, in all seriousness, it could have been as simple as the theory that Darth Vader being named for his was of invading the universe’s peace and planets…I really have NO idea…and I doubt Lucas would admit anything less than whatever would be considered most clever or ingenious. (smiling broadly) And I can’t say that I blame him! (LOL!)
To Dictionary.com: You folks are AWESOME! I love everything that you do. Love the references you provide and the knowledge you pass on. With today being an example of your gentle acknowledgement of our egregious and longstanding grammatical error and your way lovingly illuminating the error of our ways. You’re like a doting Father in many ways. So, Happy Fathers’ Day to you!
To Bentley Rae: You’re the BEST FATHER ON THE ENTIRE PLANET and I love you. I aspire to be a dad at least half as good as you. At least that may be attainable and being the penultimate dad on THAT list would be a most satisfactory achievement. Happy Fathers’ Day, Dad.
Oui, see nothing. Oui, hear nothing. Oui,say nothing. Sniff, sniff. Merde!
*correction: …as the theory that Darth Vader WAS named for his WAYS of invading the universe’s peace… (Sorry…writing & rushing from my desk at work! lol.)
Ugh. People try to look smart by pointing out other folks’ flaws but are really just jackasses trying to get the intellectual high-ground. Father’s Day is “the day belonging to Father” as in,”your father.” It isn’t a plural as in “our fathers.”
When was the last time people gathered up all of their fathers in a room and threw them a party?
Father Time.
Hilarious, there are four people as I type who all think they made the second comment, none of which actually did. I think the apostrophe mis-placement is also officially used in the other parental holiday, “Mother’s” Day; at least a quick Google search omitting the apostrophe leads me to believe it is.
This is very much like watching, “the big bang theory” and having Sheldon correct something 
BAZINGA!
either father’s or fathers’ as long as you greet your own father …and other fathers..hahah
@Alan
As per Wiki:
“Motherland may refer to a mother country, i.e. the place of one’s birth, the place of origin of an ethnic group or immigrant, or a Metropole in contrast to its colonies. People from Australia and former British colonies would sometimes describe the United Kingdom as the “Mother Country”, often carrying a strong British Imperialist connotation, and not always in a flattering manner.
Russians commonly refer to Mother Russia as a personification of their nation. Many Russians around the world refer to Russia as their motherland.”
“Fatherland is the nation of one’s “fathers” or “forefathers”. It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations.
The term fatherland (Vaterland) is used throughout German-speaking Europe, as well as in Dutch. For example, “Wien Neêrlands Bloed”, national anthem of the Netherlands between 1815 and 1932, makes extensive and conspicuous use of the parallel Dutch word.”
Why don’t you have an apostrophe in “Mothers Day” (at all) in your article?
LOVE the comment about Howard Cunningham!! Good ole Mr.C I would have to add Heithcliff (sp?) Huxtable (Bill Cosby) and Clark W. Griswold Jr. 
I agree with second comment, it can be written either way. Father’s Day is ‘the day of the father’, and as people only have one father it works fine!
Thanks 4 sheading more light on this father’s day issue. i love u my dad you are 1 in a million’
Happy Father’s Day, dad. I love you!
I thought the Darth Vader thing was interesting, don’t you? I never thought of it that way!
who wakes up before 3:59 am to post a on this?
Yet in the first line of the second paragraph you totally left out the apostrophe in “Mothers’ Day”! And paperbob misspelled “grammar”! Double D’Oh!!!!
Hah, Pjotr, do u really think Stalin was a father for soviet people?! Stalin was a murder and idiot; and wtf to call people ’soviet’, Is it nation?!!!!!!!!
“MY” father the best. Happy Father’s Day!! You died 9 years ago, but I think of you often. I LOVE and miss you!
This apostrophe problem totally reminded me of the “Daylight Savings Time” flub up. To this day even major news publications seem unconcerned about correcting the error. Is this all indicative of how lazy we our becoming as a society?
re: Hitlers father-land, Stalins mother russia etc. …..the USA or America is “OUR COUNTRY”….if you are a citizen of such…….
not as G W Bush which said in his war speech…HOMELAND
But in Mother’s Day the apostrophe is deliberately placed before the ’s’ – though it looks wrong – because the original intention was for everybody to honour their own mother as an individual, not to honour mothers everywhere. So why wouldn’t Father’s Day / Fathers’ Day be the same?
Last comment……..ya!!!!!!
Now, go to bed!
I firmly believe that the apostrophe should come AFTER the /s/..i.e Happy Fathers’ Day. This is so, since there are a lot of FATHERS in the world and they are counted as one by one. That is, Father 1, father 2, father 3, etc. hence, if we print a banner, an announcement, and the like, we MUST always put the apostrophe after the /s/.
-ferdinand Bulusan.
if you need more clarifications about grammar, post your query on my facebook account [Ferdinand Bulusan, Tuguegarao, Philippines]
I always thought that it should be Fathers’ Day. However, in other languages it can be either singular or plural.
In German it is definitely singular: Vatertag (also Muttertag). The plurals would be Vaetertag and Muettertag. (Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to get the Umlaut/diacritic on this computer. The vowel followed by -e is the alternate way of expressing it.)
In French, however, it’s la fete de peres and la fete des meres–again without the appropriate accents on fete and peres/meres.
In Spanish it can be either: el dia del padre or el dia des padres.
As for the German Vater being usually pronounced like the Dutch vader, I suppose that indistinct or careless pronunciation can account for that, but I’ve never noticed it.
Père Noël
Great. Thanks for ruining Star Wars for me!
It is immaterial to say father’s or fathers’. It will be pronounced the same. If you would say father’s day, you are referring to one: who may be so special, you singling him out. Nevertheless, to say fathers’ is greeting all fathers not necessarily those whom you really think is deserving of such.
Iconic fathers? Well, there’s Odin, the All-Father of Norse mythology; Chronos, who can possibly be considered the worst father of all time for eating his children; and Joseph the Carpenter, the mostly-silent (step)father of Jesus.
Ironically, the writer made the error of NO apostrophe accompanying “Mothers Day” in the second paragraph…
I’ve already gotta know that this insinuating sentence has something to refer to the dissemination of this grammatical peccadillo;but I just wanna know watz those verbs really mean?t-shirt is for tout for others.How bot the others?
Anyone gotta induct me bot this?thnx~
Why don’t they fix the apostrophe problem?
The liberals can change the constitution any which ways they want to, so why can’t we, the ideologically superior?
One way or the other may have come first, but both are correct. It’s not a “mistake.” I don’t celebrate anyone else’s father, and I don’t celebrate Father’s Day with other families, so for me, it makes no sense to call it Fathers’ Day.
I am sure that I am quite late on this post, but you know, whatever. The apostrophe is correctly placed because nobody honors every father; they honor their own, period. It’s not a holiday about all fathers, it’s about yours! As for the Darth Vader thing; how about some Super Geek insight into his name choice in Star Wars. Lucas wrote a lot farther then just “A New Hope”, but he had a problem. As geeks know the title “A New Hope” didn’t exist until success was realized and the sequels, the rest of the story, were a certainty. The problem Lucas faced was he needed it to stand alone to sell it. “A kiss for luck” for example, but anyway, the giveaway is that in not one version of the original Star Wars scripts did Luke live with his father before his quest began! Lucas worked out the story with Joseph Campbell, and every great myth has a father and son dynamic. Not invader, not an accident, Luke’s father! Take that to the bank and cash it in, it’s good!!
oh yea sooo cool man !!!!! but i dont get ???
Homer Simpson is a hell of a father alright…
That is so cool! Thanks for sharing
Just one question, exactly why must it honour fathers (plural!) and not father (the error, which is singular). I don’t get that. Besides, if that’s the case for “Fathers Day”, then why is it not the case for “Mother’s Day”?
Reply soon.
- Jindaberry
Hot Word Fan
And that’s pretty cool what you spotted, Marian! Well you are obviously a grammarian I’ve just spotted something too. GramMarian? (as in your name, accompanied by Gram at the beginning, to make GramMarian/Grammarian)
So was that a real mistake? Or does Mother’s Day have the same reason behind it as Fathers’ Day has?
I’ll be writing my Fathers’ Day card with the correct grammar this time, this year!
Thanks for the inspiration, Hot Word! You are so cool!
And thanks too, GramMarian.
- Jindaberry
Hot Word Fan (totally!) and a GramMarian Fan now!
Well, blow me down, I always thought Father’s Day and Mother’s Day were invented by Department Stores to drum up business.
Also, how is darth vader an iconic father figure? For your information, he is just a product of someones’s imagination. NOT A REAL father.
Thanks for the information on the use of semicolons and commas Ivan3man_at_large. I have always thought that I used too much punctuation but, now; I see that using a semicolon to write a sentence within a sentence isn’t unusual.
Fathers’ Day – a day for honouring ALL fathers.
Father’s Day – the day on which I honour MY father.
Surely each individual only observes Father’s Day?
As for iconic fathers, how about Moses – a foundling father?
January 11, 1929 – March 01, 2011 RIP Father dearest. All of us painfully miss you.
I never thought that Father’s Day was meant to indicate that the day is owned by fathers, or even a singular father. Are days commodities? Instead, I always assumed that Father’s Day meant “The day of the father,” or a day to honor fatherhood. I see no problem with the placement of the apostrophe.
Walter Camp
Derrick said: “I thought both the noun and the object had to be plural for the apostrophe to come after the “s”??”
Derrick, whoever taught you that is completely mistaken. Why would you say “your mothers’ flowers” when the flowers (plural) belong to your mother (one person, unless you have more than one mother)?
As for the person who wanted to know about Daylight Savings Time, there is no apostrophe necessary because “Daylight” and “Savings” are adjectives that modify “Time”–the time doesn’t belong to the saving (or savings).
In India, Mahatma Gandhi is also known as “Father of the nation”.
As a nation, we’re awash in singular/plural contradictions. The problem is compounded when possession is tossed into the mix. (And I’m confused why the author wrote “Mother’s Day” — singular possessive — while decrying the same construction for Father’s Day; ostensibly a plural possessive, or Fathers’ Day.
Some pet peeves for grammarians: “none” is a singular group, e.g., “None of the students IS (not “are”) likely to pass the test. Group titles, e.g., attorney general … “Forty-eight states’ attorneys general (not attorney generals) met in Washington….” However, that begs the seemingly unanswerable question of whether it should the states’ (plural possessive) or a simple plural, states?
Vegans should know that “pee” is plural while “pease” is singular. Those little cabbage-type veggies are Brussels sprouts, not Brussel sprouts. They were first cultivated in Brussels, capital of Belgium. So why aren’t they Brussels’ sprouts?
Finally, just for fun … while it sounds as dee-liteful as fingernails screeching across a blackboard, my dictionary reveals that “youse” is an acceptable (but not preferred) pluralization of “you.” Ouch!!!
Ooops. Uh, “pea” is plural while “pease” is singular. I’ve never really contemplated whether “pee” is singular or plural. Suspect it is both as is “deer.”
English is such a vexing language. The American Grammar Society officially proclaimed “who” and “whom” were interchangeable a decade ago. In another 10 years, we’ll be debating whether or not to accept common texting abbrevs as legitimate substitutes for “real” words such as, “R u getting here on time?” … WTF … LMAO … “Get milk B 4 milk u come home,” etc., etc.
What’s the tune I’m hearing… “Mare zee doats and dough zee doats and little lambsy divey, a kiddly divey, doo. Wouldn’t you?”
Really Interesting. Fresh comment! Yeah…!!!
So, does this mean Mother’s Day is also incorrectly punctuated?
Couldn’t it be argued that the single father referred to in the phrase ‘Father’s Day’ acts as a kind of synecdoche- a part-for-whole representative of all fathers? The day is a ‘day for the father’- similarly to the well known snack the ‘Fisherman’s Friend’. While the snack is claiming to be the ‘friend’ of all fishermen – possibly leading one to assume that ‘Fishermen’s Friend’ would be correct – it is equally correct (and, in my opinion, more grammatically elegant) for it to claim to be the friend of any fisherman (rather than all fishermen) hence ‘Fisherman’s Friend’. It’s a very subtle difference, but, in much the same way, Father’s Day is the day for any father, rather than the day for the overall earthly population of fathers (although, of course, it is consequently that as well.)
Or that’s how I see it. Perhaps it is comparable to consider whether we would say ‘he sees everything as black and white as the zebra’s stripes’ or ‘he sees everything as black and white as the zebras’ stripes’. As far as I can see, the former is correct- while, of course, we are talking about the stripes that are possessed by all zebras, we use a singular zebra to act as representative for the overall class of zebras.
COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Indiana Jones Father…. No?
Optimus Prime
To Alan:
Actually in Russian, they refer to Russia as ‘Fatherland’ with the word “Otechestvo” (from “Otets” father). WWII is referred to as “The great war of the Fatherland” for example.
There is also the word ‘Rodina’ which is usually translated as ‘motherland’ in English, because it is feminine in form. It isn’t literally derived from the word Mother though (which is Mat’ in Russian).
Also the word Russia itself (Rossiya) is feminine in form. Either way, the use of “Mother Russian” and the “Motherland” is exaggerated.
For example, there is a holiday in Russia, which is basically veterans’ day: “Den’ zashchitnika Otechestva” which literally translates as “Day of the defender of the Fatherland”. However in a lot of English language media they refer to it as “Defender of the Motherland Day” because it fits more with what people in the West perceive to be more Russian.
Either way, depending on your intent, is correct. If I’m referring to MY father, singular, then Father’s Day is fine (i.e. my father’s fathers’ day).
Fathers’ Day Vs Mother’s Day: I’m not sure why Mother’s Day is singular. However, they DID explain that the first Fathers’ Day was to commemorate the lives of the 210 fathers lost in a mining accident. Therefore, it is ‘the day to celebrate those specific fathers’ in it’s original concept.
Father’s Day Vs Fathers’ Day: I think now it is more of a stylistic concept. As it has already been pointed out, it sounds the same either way. Personally, I celebrate ALL the fathers in my family. I call all my uncles, my grandfathers, and my dad on this day. There are also others who may have two fathers, either due to divorce or other reasons. Just because your mother married twice, and you like both men and respect them, doesn’t mean that you have to pick just one to celebrate on Fathers’ Day. However, if you celebrate it differently with your own dad alone, then feel free to call it Father’s Day. Both are equally correct, since few people even remember the mining accident that started the holiday in the first place.
It is only incorrect if one intends it to be plural possessive. On the one hand, I do know that there are many fathers in the USA who can be honored on Father’s Day, but most people only have one father or father figure. From a personal perspective, the singular possessive makes sense.
@Heisenberg: I’m with you.
Yes! I am normal!! Misspelled words are monsters jumping off the page!
For Bucky: The lyrics are as follos:
“Mares eat oats. Does (plural of doe) eat oats. Little lambs eat ivy. A kid’ll eat ivy, too. Wouldn’t you?
Wouldn’t this hold true for Mothers’ Day as well?
In Persian (Farsi) Language, we have ” father’s day” too. It’s symbolic and perhaps because each father is worth being honored and respected by his children. We celebrate it to he honor of one the most important influential men in our religion whom we believed acted in a fatherly manner to orphans.
HAPPY LATE FATHERS’ DAY DAD!!!!!!! xD
Us’s That’s a first for me! I don’t believe this is grammatically correct, Andres
Better to say each of our fathers
nice one!
It is interesting that something as little as an apostrophe can cause bored geeks a lot of stir.
Love
A bored geek
” The grammatical misstep continues to don cards, mugs, and t-shirts to this day.”
No, it really doesn’t. Don, as a verb, means to wear.
You know that honoring your father (and mother), is the only one of the Ten Commandments that comes with a promise!
I like Father’s day better, I will honor my Father and my Father alone… hehehe.
@Bruce.
Bruce Hurley on June 19, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Great. Thanks for ruining Star Wars for me!
Hahhaha… very funny
…nice article….
well this makes me miss my dad…=(
i love father’s day allot because it is a spusile day for them and they kid i love my dad
I love my dad it’s just hard when i have some bad days with him and it hurts me when the situation is done but at the end of the day i still love him with all my heart no matter what. Dad i just want to say that i’m sorry for everything that i done and been threw i hope you accept for what i did in the past love you daddy:* you’re the best.. MY dad is B-DAY is coming up very shortly it is on May 14,2012…
Awesome
First Comment Yea!