Father's Day

Sonora Smart Dodd, who wanted to honor her father in raising six children, thought of having an official Father's Day observance to honor all fathers. Like Mother's Day, from which it was derived from, Father's Day has been observed with crass commercialism. Dodd had no problem with the commercialization of the holiday and in fact endorsed several promotions to increase the amount of gifts, unlike Mother's Day creator Anna Jarvis, who actively opposed all commercialization of Mother's Day.

Jose Rizal, whose birthday (June 19) always falls near Father's Day, was not thought of to be a father himself. Despite his legendary romantic conquests, his nearest jab at fatherhood went pfft when Josephine Bracken had a stillbirth. If Jose Rizal were alive today, he I'm sure he would say that Father's Day is the day of priests (araw ng mga pari), mindful of the father-priests then. I really think that the Padre Salvi character is named as a play on the words Padre Salvaje. And Padre Damaso means [Damn + aso (or dog)], is a damn dog, or damn bitch.

Back to Father's Day, I think Mother's Day is celebrated on the wrong date. Technically, Mother's Day comes 9 months after Father's Day. Kidding aside, almost a century after the 1st celebration of Father's Day, it (Mother's Day too) drives business as dads are given gifts ranging from apparel to zen books. But what I like most about this day is I get control of the TV remote. For a single day, 1/365th of the year, I get control. The kids are relegated to the PC and the bedroom TV. The wife volunteers to cook lunch and dinner of my choice. I get a semblance of lordship over the house, at least as much as the wife allows me to. I savor the fleeting experience as the day nears its end for tomorrow I relinquish everything back.