Daddy’s turn

It’s Daddy’s special day this time. “While mothers are said to the light of the family, fathers are recognized as the head of the family so if mothers get a special day, fathers deserve one, too”. Familiar complaint from fathers, and they are right.

June 18th was celebrated in different ways and places by Palauans and foreigners alike. Some fathers spent the day with their families in some of Palau’s favorite hangouts like the KB bridge, T-Dock, Long Island, Ice Box Park, and in hotels like the Palau Royal Resort (PRR), Palasia Hotel, Palau Pacific Resort and other restaurants.

At the PRR, daddies received VIP treatment as the hotel management pampered them with complimentary cookies, souvenir hankies, swimming pool passes, souvenir enlarged photo with the family and a lot of other surprises. This is quite a change because usually, it’s the mothers who get the flowers and chocolates and surprises from kids and their husbands.
Whether the couple or family spent father’s day in a plush restaurant or hotel, or at the seaside or even with a special meal at home, the focus is to really show that fathers are special and important!

The celebration of father’s day began almost a hundred years ago when Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "father's day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.

The first Father's Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a "father's day." In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.

To my Papa and all the fathers in the world, Happy Father's Day! This day is for you!