Father’s Day Traditions Around The World

Hey there! Welcome back to ‘The Confessions of a Random Blogger!”

As you probably know, Father’s Day is coming up in a few days.

Father’s Day is an annual celebration that honours fathers and all paternal bonds. Although the date varies according to each individual country, it is usually celebrated on the third Sunday of June.

Before you ask, yes I’m a father- dogs count right?

Today, in honour of the upcoming third Sunday in June, we’re going to be discussing various Father’s Day traditions and how they vary around different parts of the world. Send this article to your dad or a father figure in your life to show them how much you appreciate them!

Let’s get started!

---

Germany- Drunk Dads

In Germany, Father’s Day (Vatertag) is celebrated as ‘Men’s Day,’ which means that all men celebrate and commemorate the day, and not just parental figures.

The traditional ‘Vatertag’ custom in Germany is going hiking with large wagons filled with beer, wine and sometimes food to sustain them for their trip. The copious amounts of alcohol are usually finished before the hike ends, with the food being used to sober up I assume.

You may think that I’m overdramatising and exaggerating the importance of beer to this particular holiday. However, research conducted by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany discovered that alcohol-related accidents and injuries increase by almost three times on this day.

This honestly sounds like so much more fun than giving your dad overly sentimental cards and hugs. In fact, if I were to ever become an actual dad (even though. dogs do count), anything less than a wagon of beer and food would be simply unacceptable. I might even punish my child if they gave me a card and a hug for Father’s Day!

Let’s move to Germany?

France- Fiery Flaminaire Father’s Day

In traditional French culture, Father’s Day (La Fête des Pères) wasn’t usually that big of a deal. Although Father’s Day does play a role in certain Catholic traditions, the French weren’t too crazy about the whole ordeal.

That is, until a French brand of cigarette lighters by the name of ‘Flaminaire’ saw an opportunity to capitalise on the commercial Hallmark holiday that was a gigantic money-maker outside of Europe.

In the early 1900s, conventional lighters were seen as a luxury purchase over the age-old traditional matchsticks. However, after World War I, they soon became more widespread. Furthermore, by the end of the World War II, consumer society was evolving, and the concept of freely distributed gifts became more socially encouraged.

Flaminaire saw an opportunity to take advantage of the growing consumer indulgence and introduced the concept of Father’s Day to the French people in 1949. This was also at a time when most men smoked regularly, so the company emphasised the essentiality and necessity of giving ‘Flaminaire’ lighters as the ideal gift for fathers and parental figures.

They even created a new slogan for their promotional campaign. “Nos papas nous l’ont dit, pour la fête des pères, ils désirent tous un Flaminaire.” This translates to “Our dads told us, for Father’s Day, they all want a Flaminaire.”

(Thank you high school French!)

So before you congratulate McDonalds for their “genius” marketing for rewriting their yellow logo in a different font style, just remember that ‘Flaminaire’ created an entire commercial holiday to sell their product that still stands strong today.

I mean the holiday- I’m not exactly sure if ‘Flaminaire’ is around anymore.

Thailand- Father Figure Flowers

In Thailand, Father’s Day isn’t technically Father’s Day. Let me explain.

So in Thailand, Father’s Day is actually celebrated on December 5th every year instead of June. This particular date is intended to commemorate the birthday of the late King Bhumibol.

King Bhumibol was born on December 5, 1927; and was universally loved by citizens all over the country. He is adored to such a great extent that many people view him as a symbolic father figure.

Therefore, in Thailand people use King Bhumibol’s birthday as an opportunity to celebrate both his parental influence as well as their own father figures.

Furthermore, as the King was born on a Monday; children usually wear the colour yellow, which is the symbolic colour of Monday.

Children usually offer their fathers and grandfathers a canna flower, which is considered an extremely masculine flower. They are believed to be sacred, and that they have the ability to protect the people that surround themselves with it.

Russia- Parental Parade

In Russia, instead of a day dedicated solely to parental figures, they celebrate ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’ where fathers, brothers, sons, teachers and even co-workers are celebrated and honoured with gifts.

As this practice was originally a Soviet tradition, under traditional communism norms, fathers could not be celebrated without recognising and celebrating all men.

Although ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’ is more of an informal holiday in Russia, citizens usually celebrate the occasion with a variety of military-themed parades; as the festivity was originally established to honour and commemorate soldiers and veterans.

---

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed reading this, make sure to share it with an important parental figure in your life!

You can check out my last few posts here:

• The Scariest Things That Actually Exist
• borrowed poems from an anonymous- ‘Expressions of Love’ and ‘Experience’
• The Horror of Surveillance
• Pet Peeves
• Happy Panda- Random Blogger Interviews

Connect with me on Instagram!

Until Next Time.