When is Father's Day 2025? Why do we celebrate, what are the traditions and when did it start?

Mother’s Day in March is traditionally more of a big deal in the UK, but it’s also important to pay tribute to all the dads in our lives.

Here’s everything you need to know about the big(ish) day.

When is Father’s Day?

In the UK Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June every year - so this year that means Sunday, June 15.

But depending on where your dad lives in the world it may be celebrated on a different day, as every country seems to have its own idea on when it should be. In Australia and New Zealand it’s on the first Sunday of September, in Switzerland it’s the first Sunday of June and in Sweden the second Sunday of November.

In many Catholic European countries, it’s celebrated on March 19 as Saint Joseph's Day - marking the “legal” father of Jesus Christ.

In some countries - including Lithuania, Spain, Estonia, Samoa, and South Korea - it’s a national or public holiday.

When was Father’s Day invented?

The celebrations of Saint Joseph’s Day have taken place since the middle ages around continental Europe, but in the UK Father’s Day is a relatively new celebration - making its debut post-World War 2. In contrast Mothering Sunday has been celebrated since the early 19th century.

It has a longer history in the USA - which along with Canada celebrates on the same day as the UK. On the other side of the Atlantic it was first observed in 1908, when a woman named Grace Clayton organised an event to remember her father who died in a mining accident. Father’s Day eventually gained significance in its own right, with US President Richard Nixon making it into a national holiday in 1972.

What is the point of Father’s Day?

Communities worldwide celebrate Father’s Day as a means of recognising and honouring the contribution of fathers. It acknowledges the importance of fatherhood and the dedication of men towards their family and wider community.

What are the traditions of Father’s Day?

In the UK it’s traditional to visit fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers with a card and a gift.

But there are more colourful traditions in other countries.

In Germany it’s tradition to go for a group hike.

In Thailand everyone wears yellow on Father’s Day and presents their fathers with a Canna flower.

In Japan children gift their dads handmade beer glasses and boxes of Japanese sweets.

In Brazil it’s traditional to hold huge and all-you-can-eat barbecues to mark the day.