Roses for Father's Day?
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Popular red shrub roses now used in landscaping. (charlotte ekker wiggins photo)
Roses for Father’s Day?
Actually yes, when Father’s Day was first created, roses were the traditional gift for Dads.
Flowers aren’t as heavily advertised for Father’s Day now as they are for mothers in May, yet the link between dads and the delicate blooms comes from the earliest American celebrations of the holiday.
The first known Father’s Day is tied to the West Virginia mining community of Fairmont. On July 5, 1908, the town held a church service honoring the lives of community fathers. A number had perished in what is still widely considered as the worst mining disaster in US history.
In 1909, Sonora Smart Dodd launched her campaign to honor fathers from her home in Spokane, Washington. The daughter of a Civil War veteran and widower who had raised six children, Dodd believed fathers deserved recognition for their roles. Within a year, she had drummed up community support, and on June 19, 1910, Washington became the first US state to celebrate Father’s Day.
Dodd’s first festivities included an exchange of roses; children gave red roses to their fathers and pinned color-coded buds to their shirts — red for living fathers and white roses in honor of the deceased.
Over time, the tradition of giving roses to dads faded away, but the holiday stuck around. After years of rallying, Father’s Day became a federally recognized holiday in 1972.
Happy Father’s Day, these roses are for you!
