Father's Day is another holiday that as consumers we spend a lot of money on, but we want to open the discussion on - do we really need a day like Father's Day? Han-Son from Daddilife explores the idea in a little detail. 

Special occasions are always fun, but they should also have real meaning if we expect them to matter. With Father’s Day around the corner we wanted to reflect on whether we really need Father’s day as a modern celebration.

Depending on who you ask, Father’s Day is either a great opportunity for more dad bonding or simply a time when you’re supposed to look for the best dad socks to express appreciation of the dads in your lives. For many, Father’s day is just another day, and its public celebration is undeniably driven by economic factors. But for others it’s the chance to celebrate a holiday to really reflect and make dad feel valued. 

Reasons Why Father’s Day is an Increasingly Pointless Holiday

“Men should always change diapers. It’s a very rewarding experience. It’s mentally cleansing. It’s like washing dishes, but imagine if the dishes were your kids, so you really love the dishes.” – Chris Martin 

There are two main driving reasons behind any holiday: raising awareness of a cause/ideal, and showing appreciation to the relevant people. Both of these reasons are now increasingly pointless when it comes to Father’s day. Think about it: 

When you browse through the vast offering of books for new dads available, you quickly realise there is a solid demand for self-improvement in male parenting. The simple fact speaks volumes of how increasingly aware modern fathers are towards the importance of their role, as well as being very invested in self-improving for the sake of their families. 

Following that through, you could argue that Father’s Day is now degrading into a mindless occasion for expressing gratitude to fathers by offering gifts and tokens of appreciation that are increasingly meaningless gestures. Are we actually presenting fathers with heartfelt homages and respectful gestures, or are we simply hiding our affections behind material gifts?

Honouring dads has nothing to do with expressing material gratitude. Receiving gifts is always nice, but unless a gift is backed by genuine feeling, it’s just an object lacking any real substance. Offering a gift can be a great opportunity to express real affection, as long as it’s just the cherry on top of the cake of your actual feelings. If you’re merely giving fathers an object, no matter how expensive, you’re just presenting him with a flourishing that is really not as honourable as you may imagine. 

That said, could doing something be better than doing nothing at all? Which brings us back to the point that Father’s day still does matter – as long as you use it as a real opportunity to bond with your father. 

Why Father’s Day Still Matters, Now More Than Ever

“The only way I can describe [fatherhood]—it sounds stupid—but at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, you know how his heart grows like five times? Everything is full; it’s just full all the time.” – Matt Damon 

The simple reason why Father’s day still matters and always will for some: because it’s important to have a special day to celebrate and reflect on the relationship between father and child, no matter on which end of this relationship you happen to be at this stage in your life.

There is nothing wrong with offering your father nice gifts on Father’s day, if you can afford it. There is nothing wrong with offering simple hand-made tokens if that’s all you can do. But there is much wrong in failing to back your material gifts with genuine feeling – after all that’s the crucial element of any relationship. 

At the end of the day, maybe that’s why Father’s day still remains a crucial day: because it serves as a reminder for both parents and children. A reminder to take a break from our hectic routines and just spend a little time together if possible, or otherwise just take the opportunity to express some actual gratitude and appreciation. 

What do you think? Does it sound a bit idealistic or do you have unconventional plans for Father’s Day?

Daddilife is one of the top parenting blogs for Dads, and all content is written by Han-Son, dad of one. For more articles about how dads can help with breastfeeding, the best dad jokes and also everything to do with being a Dad, head over to the website!