While Mother’s Day was recognized in 1914, Father’s Day was not met with the same enthusiasm. It wasn’t until US President Nixon’s re-election campaign to get an official recognition in 1972 as a holiday. There are a lot of amazing stories and surprises when it comes to this paternal holiday.
MYKU dug up the TOP 9 of the most interesting facts, dedicated to the (official) ‘head’ of the family.
9. Dad or Papa? Who come first?
Despite no official recording, history teaches us that the word ‘Dad’ first showed up around the 15thcentury. Guess who invented this word?! Well, it came from baby’s gibberish word ‘dada’, which then became the word used most commonly today, ‘Dad’
8. Say Daddy.
While we already are the subject ‘Who came first’, most babies do say ‘dada’ before they can say ‘mama’. In fact, linguistically it is harder to pronounce ‘dada’, given the tongue movement required. Scientists found out that ‘mama’ comes in second because the first person a baby sees after being born is most of the time their proud dad, hence this very first impression of another human leads to a stronger initial identification with ‘dada’.
7. Roses are for Dad too
Many of us think that flowers are for moms only, but think again! Guess what, the official flower for dads is also the rose. Traditionally, a red rose worn on your lapel on Father’s Day, is the way to celebrate your old man (if he’s still around). Now, you might want to check with him before you get that expensive bouquet.
6. The World’s youngest and oldest dad
In 1998, British boy Sean Stewart, became the youngest father in the world at the age of 12. In 2012, Indian senior Ramjit Raghav became the world’s oldest Dad when he fathered his second child at 96.
5. Father’s Day Cards
There are over 8,000 Father’s Day card designs worldwide and an astonishing 74 million cards are given each year on Father’s Day. After mother’s day and a few other holidays, Father’s day ranks 4thin terms of card-sending holidays according to Hallmark. The first Father’s Day card was believed to be made over 4,000 years ago by a Babylonian named Elmesu for his dad.
4. Basis of Sex
The power of love. Biologically, fathers actually determine the sex of their offspring because they can pass along the X or Y chromosome, while mothers only pass on the X chromosome. (Not that they can consciously influence it)
3. Daddy’s home
Hooray for emancipation. Today’s fathers spend double the amount of time they spent with their kids in 1989, and almost triple the amount of time with their kids as fathers did back in 1965. Stay-at-home-dads rock!
2. Becoming A Better Dad
Who said dads don’t care? Sixty-one percent of fathers who use social media apply the information and advice they get from social to be better dads. Social media is a great parenting resources for many fathers today.
1. Two Dads
For many of us in today’s society, love knows no conventional boundaries. In the US alone, it is estimated that 115,000 same sex-households have children, whether biological, adopted, through surrogates or for other reasons. While the majority of these kids are raised by two mums, many of them grow up with two dads. Around the world, marriage equality is on the rise and more and more nations introduce adoption rights for same-sex couples.
No matter whether you have one or two dads, show your gratitude and get them something special. If you think red roses may not hit the spot for dad, check out MYKU’s Father’s Day collection here and enjoy our special deal.