UAE Father's Day 2021: Fun facts about the celebratory day

UAE CELEBRATES TODAY While some parts of the world celebrate June 20th as Father’s Day, in the UAE – and some other places in the Middle East such as Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan - the day that pays tribute to dads and their contribution to the family is celebrated on June 21st. Before you rush to wish your own, here’s a look at some fun facts about the day.

FATHERS’ DAY OR FATHER’S DAY? The day Father’s Day was actually championed by a woman called Sonora Dodd, who was one of six kids raised by a single parent, back in 1909. She wanted it to be called Fathers’ Day, as an acknowledgement of fathers everywhere. However, by 1913, when the first bill to nationalise the holiday was introduced into US Congress, the term being used was already singular possessive. The apostrophe stuck.

THE PRESENT QUESTION Did you know? The most common gift offered up this day is a card; according to Hallmark, it’s the fourth-largest card-sending occasion with 72 million cards given every year. But, there’s a simpler – and arguably more popular - way people use to connect to their dads – via phone call. Back in 1992, AT&T reported 83 million calls were made on Father’s Day. (Recent numbers are unknown, but considering the global pandemic and movement restrictions, we believe pit's safe to say they are still popular.) For handcrafted gift options in the UAE, check out https://bit.ly/3zForsB

DAD DOESN’T MEAN FATHER ‘Dad’ is not actually an abbreviation for father, or the Latin word ‘pater’, which means the same thing. In fact, it probably is a father’s way of claiming ‘a child’s first word’ – or ramblings; children frequently babble before being able to talk, addressing things as da-da or ta-da, explains an article in Time Magazine, that quotes Oxford English Dictionary’s Katherine Martin as saying “There’s unusual similarity in the words for mothers and fathers throughout the world. And that has to do with how babies start to vocalize.”

YOUNGEST, OLDEST The oldest dad in the world was Ramjit Raghav, who at the grand old age of 94 became a father in 2010 in India’s Haryana. Now for the most terrifying statistic: The title of the youngest dad in the world remains with an 11-year-old UK boy who impregnated his 15-year-old neighbour in 1998. | Photo for illustrative purposes only.

FLOWER POWER The official Father’s Day’s flower is the rose: a red rose signifies your father is still alive while a white one pays tribute to one who has passed away. The choice of flower was selected by Dodd herself.

NOT ENOUGH TIME In a study conducted by Pew Research Center, researchers found that most dads say being a parent is rewarding and central to their identity. However, about 63 per cent did confess to not spending enough time with them. Well, what are you waiting for – rush to call your dad.