Daily Dirt: Father’s Day can have different feel in different parts of world

June 15, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Since the Father's Day celebration overlaps with St. Joseph’s Day in Italy, zeppole di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph cream puffs) are quite popular. | Photo courtesy of Catholic Telegraph

Daily Dirt for Sunday, June 15, 2025

Those Italian cream puffs sound might good … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,315 of The Daily Dirt.

1. It’s Father’s Day, and it’s always one of my favorite occasions.

Even though I lost my own dad relatively early in life, I’ve always considered the day extremely special. For me, it’s always been a special day to celebrate kids and grandkids. Today will be no different. I’m sure I’ll see or at least talk to all of them.

But I was wondering late Saturday night, how do other countries celebrate this special day? I have to admit I was surprised that in many other areas of the world, Father’s Day is celebrated not only on a different day but in a different fashion. Here were my three favorite medal-worthy Father’s Day celebrations I came across:

Gold medal: Italy. “Festa del Papà” is celebrated on St. Joseph’s feast day on March 19. In some areas, school-age children compose original poetry for their dad and create homemade cards or drawings. True to the Italian culture of gathering over meals, families celebrate with a big Italian meal, which might be meatless since it’s the Lent season. But Italians make up for the no meat with delicious seafood and lavish desserts. Since the celebration overlaps with St. Joseph’s Day, zeppole di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph cream puffs) are quite popular. Aside from these culinary pleasures, Italian dads usually receive small gifts.

Silver medal: Sweden. Most Swedes celebrate “Fars Dag” on the second Sunday in November. The tradition seems to have started at the turn of the 20th century. Fathers often receive cakes and presents, such as books or ties on this day, and the joke goes that older dads tend to have a lot of ties.Children may make crafts for their dad at school, and there are sometimes public events to honor fathers and father figures in Sweden. Families often go out to dinner or make their father a special meal of Baltic herring filets paired with a treat like apple pie or strawberries. Later, they take him to his favorite activity such as seeing a performance or going fishing.

Bronze medal: Philippines. Father’s Day is an important holiday there. Though the holiday was introduced through American culture and celebrated on the third Sunday of June, the day has taken on a distinctly Filipino flavor. Families work hard to make Dad his favorite dish and prepare Philippine delicacies like lechon (spit-roasted pork), kare kare (a peanut-based stew) or adobo, a special sauce for meat. Then, after offering some small or homemade gifts, Filipinos are known to take dad out to his favorite activity like a sports event. There’s also a solemn aspect to Father’s Day: It usually includes a prayer of thanks.

2. Did you know (Part 396) that “Happy Father’s Day” …

In German sounds like “Alles Gute zum Vatertag.”
In Dutch is “Gelukkige vaderdag!”
In French would be “Bonne fête des pères!”
In Portuguese would be “Feliz dia dos pais!”
In Spanish comes across as “Feliz Día del Padre.”

3. Some interesting facts tied to Father’s Day:

Father’s Day is the fourth most popular card-sending occasion in the U.S., with more than 87 million cards sent annually.
Americans are expected to spend $20 billion this year on Father’s Day gifts.
The first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, and it originated in the United States.
Of the 72 million dads who reside in the United States, 29 million of them are also grandfathers.
Father’s Day was officially recognized as a national holiday in the United States in 1972. President Richard Nixon signed a proclamation to establish Father’s Day as a day of celebration and appreciation for fathers across the nation.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Of that $20 billion forecast to be spent on Father’s Day gifts, most of that figure is likely to go toward neckties, which still rank as the most popular of all presents for the old man.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Did you notice Steve mentioned all of the food celebrations around the world as part of Father’s Day?