Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic Europe, it has been celebrated on March 19 (St. Joseph's Day) since the Middle Ages. This celebration was brought by the Spanish and Portuguese to Latin America, where March 19 is often still used for it, though many countries in Europe and the Americas have adopted the U.S. date, which is the third Sunday of June. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day, Siblings Day and Grandparents Day.In addition to Father's Day, International Men's Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 in honor of men and boys who are not fathers. The officially recognized date of Father's Day varies from country to country. This section lists some significant examples, in order of date of observance. In the United States, Dodd used the "Fathers' Day" spelling on her original petition for the holiday, but the spelling "Father's Day" was already used in 1913 when a bill was introduced to the U.S. Congress as the first attempt to establish the holiday, and it was still spelled the same way when its creator was commended in 2008 by the U.S. Congress.
In the United States Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Typically, families gather to celebrate the father figures in their lives. In recent years, retailers have adapted to the holiday by promoting greeting cards and gifts such as electronics and tools. Schools (if in session) and other children's programs commonly have activities to make Father's Day gifts. The U.S. Open golf tournament is scheduled to finish on Father's Day, as was the 2016 NBA Finals. In the United Kingdom Father's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The day does not have a long tradition; The English Year (2006) states that it entered British popular culture "sometime after the Second World War, not without opposition".
