Father's Day

In the United States, the driving force behind the establishment of the celebration of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, born in Creston, Washington. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent raised his six children in Spokane, Washington. She was inspired by Anna Jarvis's efforts to establish Mother's Day. Although she initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death, she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make arrangements, and the celebration was deferred to the third Sunday of June. The first Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane.

Unofficial support from such figures as William Jennings Bryan was immediate and widespread. President Woodrow Wilson was personally feted by his family in 1916. President Calvin Coolidge recommended it as a national holiday in 1924. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. The holiday was not officially recognized until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.

In recent years, retailers have adapted to the holiday by selling male-oriented gifts such as electronics and tools. Schools and other children's programs commonly have activities to make Father's Day gifts.

Source: Father's Day - Wikipedia

Date of Father's Day 2006
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The officially recognised date of Father's Day varies from country to country.

19th of March

Countries observing Father's Day on the 19th of March include: Belgium (also secular celebration on the second Sunday of June), Italy, Portugal and Spain.

23rd of June

Countries observing Father's Day on the 23rd of June include: Poland and Nicaragua.

Third Sunday of June

Countries observing Father's Day on the third Sunday of June include: Argentina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Hong Kong S.A.R., India, Ireland, Japan, Macao S.A.R., Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

First Sunday of September

Countries observing Father's Day on the first Sunday of September include: Australia and New Zealand.

Second Sunday of November

Countries observing Father's Day on the second Sunday of November include: Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Other dates

Countries with other celebration dates include:
Russia: February 23 (Defender of the Fatherland Day, a military holiday, seen by many as a men's day)
South Korea: May 8 (Parents' Day)
Germany: Ascension Day
Denmark: June 5 (also Constitution Day)
Lithuania: first Sunday of June
Austria: second Sunday of June
Vietnam: July 7 (Parents' Day)
Dominican Republic: last Sunday of July
Iran: 13 Rajab, birthday of Ali
Taiwan: August 8
The word for the date, bā bā, (8/8) is a near-homonym of the word for father in Chinese, "爸爸" bàba.
Brazil: second Sunday of August
Thailand: December 5 (birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej)

Economy
The state's total gross state product for 2003 was $76 billion. Its Per Capita Personal Income for 2003 was $24,384, 50th in the nation. The state's agriculture outputs are poultry and eggs, soybeans, sorghum, cattle, cotton, rice, hogs, and milk. Its industrial outputs are food processing, electric equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, paper products, bromine, and vanadium.

In recent years, automobile parts manufacturers have opened factories in eastern Arkansas to support auto plants in other states (though Arkansas does not yet have an auto plant itself, it is rumored to be a future site for a Toyota plant as well as for a truck plant to be built by Toyota's subsidiary Hino Motors).

Tourism is also very important to the Arkansas economy; the official state nickname "The Natural State" is prominently displayed in state tourism advertising.

The effect of Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and other multinational companies located in NW Arkansas cannot be understated. The area is currently in a long-running economic boom due to being the forefront of Global Trade. Wal-Mart alone accounts for $8.90 out of every $100 spent in U.S. retail stores.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/