June 21: « In the name of the father »

It is a family pillar, a rock, endowed with knowledge and wisdom, towards which we seek advice and comfort. We want him to be strong, we want him to be understanding and open-minded. As Chimène Badi sings, « A father is the hours that hope, a future made yesterday. He gives us a whole life of spring and winter. We can reassure him with a kiss, a bit like a mother.  »

In France, dads are celebrated every third Sunday of June. However, this forgotten tradition, the distant origins of which date back to the Middle Ages, is not formalized, as is the feast of grandmothers. So, by whom was it brought up to date?

Not by a marshal. Not by treaty. And neither by a president. But by whom then? We owe this day to a lighter. Eh yes ! Thanks to the Breton brand Flaminaire. In 1950, its director, Marcel Quercia, looked for a way to increase the sale of its gas lighters; June being a slack period for its turnover. He will not look far. The idea will come to her from Mother’s Day. Since there is a day dedicated to moms, why should it not be the same for dads? He then created a slogan « Our dads told us, for Father’s Day, they all want a Flaminaria » and solicited a hundred tobacconists with whom he worked, asking them to display it on their storefront. He chooses the third Sunday of June to distribute his product. Success is there. This is how Father’s Day was established by decree in 1952, without, however, being enshrined in the Code of Social Action and Families, or in law.

So, even if most of the time they can be authoritarian, possessive and overly protective, it is their very awkward way of loving and chaperoning their descendants. This year, their day falls on the same day as summer and the music festival; the perfect opportunity to honor, with fanfare, their importance … or not …

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Daphne VICTOR

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