Father's Day

Today, in honor of Father's Day, I would like to expound on the history of this fine holiday in German-speaking Europe. No wait, don't leave! I promise this will be interesting. Well, I hope so anyways. I made a commitment to myself long ago that I wouldn't delete something just because it wasn't interesting. This blog is all about quantity, folks, not quality. I'm surprised you hadn't noticed by now.

Back to the point at hand -- Father's Day, or Vatertag. Father's Day in Austria is pretty much the same as Father's Day in the U.S. That is, it's much less significant than Mother's Day. (I didn't say that I think it's less significant. It's society, man. Society. Of course, I think it's equally significant.) Children of all ages take advantage of this day to gift their father with cards and small treasures in appreciation for all that things that dads do. The Austrians, however, throw in one little twist. They celebrate Father's Day the second Sunday in June -- one week before the U.S. holiday. Sneaky.

Switzerland does not have a national Father's Day. But they do have good cheese, so that counts for something.

And then there's Germany. This is where things get interesting. Father's Day began in the Middle Ages as a day to honor God the Father. It was celebrated on Ascension Day, which is generally in May (40 days after Easter). It later became a day to honor fathers in general. But somewhere along the line it disappeared for a while. And when it returned in the 19th century (still on Ascension Day), it was no longer a day to honor God or even a day to honor fathers. It was pretty much an excuse for guys to get drunk. In fact, in some parts of Germany it's called Herrentag (Men's Day) instead of Vatertag -- I guess so that all guys, and not just fathers, can participate in the day's revelry. Basically, guys spend the day going from bar to bar and making a big scene while women spend the day rolling their eyes and pretending not to know the men. I don't think the holiday is celebrated much these days, but I'm pretty sure I got to witness it about 10 years ago in Chemnitz, Germany. I remember seeing these guys walking up and down the street pulling a wagon full of beer and ringing bells. When I asked about it, the ladies just rolled their eyes and said that it was Men's Day.

So there you have it.

And Dad, if you're reading this: Happy Father's Day, Pops!