Father's Day
Indian father Shailesh, pictured June 19, 2016 throwing up his son at a park on Father's Day, Father's Day is celebrated in several countries worldwide. Getty Images

In the United States and in many other countries around the world, Father's Day is celebrated this Sunday.

There's also a lot to know about the holiday that extends well beyond buying ties and going out for a family meal. The history of Father's Day, how the day relates to Mother's Day and the financial status of fathers are just a few of the important ways to put the holiday into an appropriate context.

The History Of Father's Day

In 1910, Washington became the first state to have a day to celebrate fathers. It took a while for the rest of the country to follow suit.

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According to History.com, Father's Day wasn't celebrated nationwide until President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation to make Mother's Day an official holiday in 1914. Father's Day followed approximately in 1972 courtesy of President Richard Nixon.

When Is Father's Day Celebrated Outside The US?

Despite the fact that it's an American-created holiday, Father's Day is celebrated in almost every country and most of them celebrate this Sunday. However, most countries tend to deviate from when the U.S. celebrates the holiday. For example, Australia honors fathers in September.

Countries like Angola, Bolivia, Croatia, Honduras, Italy, Mozambique and Spain celebrated Father's Day on March 19.

Nordic and Scandinavian countries, with the exception of Denmark, celebrate the holiday in November. Denmark, interestingly, celebrated the holiday on Constitution Day, which was on June 5

How Does Father's Day Compare To Mother's Day?

While Father's Day is a widely celebrated holiday, Mother's Day generates far more retail sales than Father's Day, and it's not even close.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), data shows Mother's Day sales this year reached $23.6 billion. Father's Day, meanwhile, is expected to generate just $14.3 billion in sales. There are several cultural reasons for the disparity making it difficult to pinpoint just one.

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The difference in retail sales could be attributed to shopping patterns, as some would argue that it is easier to shop for women than men. Dr. Lars Perner, a consumer psychologist at the University of Southern California, spoke to the BBC about this sales gap, claiming that nice gifts are a necessity for fathers.

"I think fathers think they don't really need expensive, showy trinkets, or anything like mom's bouquet of flowers," Perner said. "They're not typically gift oriented. They generally don't expect anyone to feel an obligation to buy material items for them."

The Role Of Fathers In Contemporary Culture

Fatherhood has changed significantly from when the holiday first originated. The role of the modern dad has morphed into several identities including working dad, single dad, and stay-at-home dad. In an effort to help the modern father figure in 2017, personal finance website WalletHub created a list of the best and worst states nationwide for fathers to acquire work.

The study found that Connecticut proved to be the best state to obtain work, followed by Minnesota and Vermont. Mississippi, meanwhile, came in last place. Around Mother's Day, WalletHub also conducted a study like this for working moms.

While the study primarily focused on the best locations for work opportunities in the U.S., it also revealed a number of important statistics.

The study notes that North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate for dads with children under 17 years old, which is at 1.22 percent. Additionally, Washington, D.C., is currently ranked as the highest median family income, which is at $98,156.

To get a better understanding as to where working fathers rank nationwide, take a look at the full list below. Economic and social well-being were ranked out of 30, work life balance was ranked out of 30, childcare was out of 30, and health was out of 10.

Best & Worst States for Working Dads - 2017 Overall Rank:

  1. Connecticut: 72.10 (Total Score), 8 (Economic/Social Standing), 4 (Work-Life Balance), 6 (Child Care), 5 (Health)
  2. Minnesota: 71.17 (Total Score), 2 (Economic/Social Standing), 9 (Work-Life Balance), 5 (Child Care), 1 (Health)
  3. Vermont: 70.37 (Total Score), 16 (Economic/Social Standing), 5 (Work-Life Balance), 4 (Child Care), 3 (Health)
  4. Massachusetts: 69.12 (Total Score), 11 (Economic/Social Standing), 11 (Work-Life Balance), 3 (Child Care), 2 (Health)
  5. New Jersey: 68.17 (Total Score), 10 (Economic/Social Standing), 14 (Work-Life Balance), 1 (Child Care), 19 (Health)
  6. Rhode Island: 65.09 (Total Score), 27 (Economic/Social Standing), 2 (Work-Life Balance), 21 (Child Care), 17 (Health)
  7. Delaware: 64.05 (Total Score), 15 (Economic/Social Standing), 17 (Work-Life Balance), 2 (Child Care), 36 (Health)
  8. Wisconsin: 61.51 (Total Score), 12 (Economic/Social Standing), 15 (Work-Life Balance), 11 (Child Care), 11 (Health)
  9. District of Columbia: 61.10 (Total Score), 17 (Economic/Social Standing), 7 (Work-Life Balance), 30 (Child Care), 18 (Health)
  10. New Hampshire: 61.09 (Total Score), 5 (Economic/Social Standing), 39 (Work-Life Balance), 7 (Child Care), 6 (Health)
  11. Utah: 59.60 (Total Score), 19 (Economic/Social Standing), 12 (Work-Life Balance), 14 (Child Care), 15 (Health)
  12. Virginia: 59.34 (Total Score), 3 (Economic/Social Standing), 44 (Work-Life Balance), 8 (Child Care), 14 (Health)
  13. Iowa: 59.00 (Total Score), 6 (Economic/Social Standing), 21 (Work-Life Balance), 22 (Child Care), 9 (Health)
  14. Illinois: 58.78 (Total Score), 20 (Economic/Social Standing), 16 (Work-Life Balance), 10 (Child Care), 26 (Health)
  15. North Dakota: 58.30 (Total Score), 1 (Economic/Social Standing), 38 (Work-Life Balance), 15 (Child Care), 20 (Health)
  16. Maryland: 57.62 (Total Score), 4 (Economic/Social Standing), 36 (Work-Life Balance), 12 (Child Care), 16 (Health)
  17. Maine: 57.23 (Total Score), 28 (Economic/Social Standing), 10 (Work-Life Balance), 17 (Child Care), 22 (Health)
  18. Nebraska: 56.87 (Total Score), 7 (Economic/Social Standing), 25 (Work-Life Balance), 24 (Child Care), 12 (Health)
  19. Kansas: 56.21 (Total Score), 13 (Economic/Social Standing), 27 (Work-Life Balance), 18 (Child Care), 25 (Health)
  20. New York: 56.06 (Total Score), 43 (Economic/Social Standing), 8 (Work-Life Balance), 23 (Child Care), 24 (Health)
  21. Colorado: 55.06 (Total Score), 18 (Economic/Social Standing), 20 (Work-Life Balance), 28 (Child Care), 7 (Health)
  22. Washington: 54.75 (Total Score), 25 (Economic/Social Standing), 13 (Work-Life Balance), 31 (Child Care), 8 (Health)
  23. Hawaii: 54.69 (Total Score), 39 (Economic/Social Standing), 6 (Work-Life Balance), 40 (Child Care), 4 (Health)
  24. California: 53.40 (Total Score), 49 (Economic/Social Standing), 1 (Work-Life Balance), 47 (Child Care), 10 (Health)
  25. Indiana: 53.27 (Total Score), 24 (Economic/Social Standing), 30 (Work-Life Balance), 9 (Child Care), 40 (Health)
  26. Oregon: 53.14 (Total Score), 47 (Economic/Social Standing), 3 (Work-Life Balance), 42 (Child Care), 21 (Health)
  27. Ohio: 52.31 (Total Score), 21 (Economic/Social Standing), 24 (Work-Life Balance), 26 (Child Care), 38 (Health)
  28. Montana: 50.75 (Total Score), 29 (Economic/Social Standing), 18 (Work-Life Balance), 32 (Child Care), 37 (Health)
  29. Pennsylvania: 49.35 (Total Score), 14 (Economic/Social Standing), 41 (Work-Life Balance), 33 (Child Care), 31 (Health)
  30. Wyoming: 48.44 (Total Score), 9 (Economic/Social Standing), 47 (Work-Life Balance), 36 (Child Care), 30 (Health)
  31. Missouri: 48.37 (Total Score), 22 (Economic/Social Standing), 35 (Work-Life Balance), 34 (Child Care), 34 (Health)
  32. North Carolina: 48.18 (Total Score), 38 (Economic/Social Standing), 31 (Work-Life Balance), 20 (Child Care), 35 (Health)
  33. Florida: 48.18 (Total Score), 46 (Economic/Social Standing), 23 (Work-Life Balance), 19 (Child Care), 27 (Health)
  34. Kentucky: 47.30 (Total Score), 36 (Economic/Social Standing), 32 (Work-Life Balance), 16 (Child Care), 48 (Health)
  35. South Dakota: 47.17 (Total Score), 23 (Economic/Social Standing), 42 (Work-Life Balance), 38 (Child Care), 13 (Health)
  36. Tennessee: 46.83 (Total Score), 35 (Economic/Social Standing), 28 (Work-Life Balance), 25 (Child Care), 44 (Health)
  37. Michigan: 45.86 (Total Score), 31 (Economic/Social Standing), 34 (Work-Life Balance), 37 (Child Care), 33 (Health)
  38. Texas: 45.74 (Total Score), 30 (Economic/Social Standing), 51 (Work-Life Balance), 13 (Child Care), 32 (Health)
  39. Oklahoma: 42.56 (Total Score), 32 (Economic/Social Standing), 49 (Work-Life Balance), 27 (Child Care), 47 (Health)
  40. South Carolina: 41.82 (Total Score), 42 (Economic/Social Standing), 40 (Work-Life Balance), 35 (Child Care), 42 (Health)
  41. Alaska: 41.11 (Total Score), 34 (Economic/Social Standing), 33 (Work-Life Balance), 50 (Child Care), 29 (Health)
  42. Arizona: 40.88 (Total Score), 48 (Economic/Social Standing), 29 (Work-Life Balance), 44 (Child Care), 23 (Health)
  43. Georgia: 40.77 (Total Score), 41 (Economic/Social Standing), 48 (Work-Life Balance), 29 (Child Care), 43 (Health)
  44. Arkansas: 40.72 (Total Score), 44 (Economic/Social Standing), 26 (Work-Life Balance), 41 (Child Care), 49 (Health)
  45. Idaho: 39.38 (Total Score), 33 (Economic/Social Standing), 37 (Work-Life Balance), 51 (Child Care), 28 (Health)
  46. Alabama: 38.47 (Total Score), 37 (Economic/Social Standing), 46 (Work-Life Balance), 43 (Child Care), 50 (Health)
  47. Louisiana: 38.25 (Total Score), 26 (Economic/Social Standing), 45 (Work-Life Balance), 49 (Child Care), 46 (Health)
  48. New Mexico: 38.22 (Total Score), 50 (Economic/Social Standing), 19 (Work-Life Balance), 46 (Child Care), 39 (Health)
  49. West Virginia: 36.91 (Total Score), 40 (Economic/Social Standing), 43 (Work-Life Balance), 45 (Child Care), 45 (Health)
  50. Nevada: 35.12 (Total Score), 51 (Economic/Social Standing), 22 (Work-Life Balance), 48 (Child Care), 41 (Health)
  51. Mississippi: 33.78 (Total Score), 45 (Economic/Social Standing), 50 (Work-Life Balance), 39 (Child Care), 51 (Health)

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