Why It’s Ok to Roast Your Dad on Father’s Day

Though Father’s Day has only been celebrated for a little over a century, it has become an important holiday in many cultures around the world. And while some people may think it’s odd to roast one’s father on his special day, there are actually good reasons to do so. But before we get to talking about why it’s mightily ok to make fun of your old man on his special day, let’s revisit the yearly occasion’s origins.

The History of Father’s Day

Father’s Day was first celebrated in the early 1900s, specifically on June 19, 1910, in the state of Washington, per History.com; although it wasn’t an official holiday until 1972.

The idea for the holiday is credited to a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd, who had wanted to honor her own father. Dodd’s father had raised six children on his own after his wife died during childbirth. Dodd thought that fathers deserved to be honored in the same way that mothers were on Mother’s Day, which had been established decades earlier.

She proposed the idea of Father’s Day to several churches in her area, and the first official Father’s Day celebration was held on the aforementioned date: June 19, 1910.

While Dodd is credited with the idea for Father’s Day, it wasn’t until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation declaring the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. In 1972, Richard Nixon made it an official holiday by signing it into law.

In 2022, Father’s Day in the Philippines falls on June 19 — the same date as the original day it had been first celebrated, only 112 years later.

How Father’s Day is Celebrated Today

Father’s Day is still celebrated on the third Sunday in June in countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In some countries, such as Thailand, Father’s Day is celebrated on a different date altogether, annually every fifth of December.

In the Philippines, while Father’s Day is now celebrated on the third Sunday of June, it wasn’t always the case. According to PTV News, Mother’s Day had been originally celebrated by the country on the first Monday of December every year. Back then, there had been no Father’s Day celebrations.

In 1980, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared the first Sunday of December to be Father’s Day, while mothers were still commemorated on the first Monday of the same month. It was during President Corazon Aquino’s term that both holidays followed international observances, but unknown to many, President Erap Estrada’s Proclamation No. 58 in 1998 officially superseded Aquino’s, declaring the first Monday of December as both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

That being said, Filipinos today still celebrate both occasions according to internationally recognized dates, usually with dad gifts, greeting cards, lots of food, maybe some booze, and a gathering of beloved friends and family. Many Filipinos also take the opportunity to show their appreciation for their fathers by telling them how much they are loved and appreciated through videos messages and photo sets on social media.

Ashley, one of Modern Filipina’s very own, once penned a touching open letter to her dad on Father’s Day. If you’re looking for a sweet and sincere way to tell your dad how much he means to you on Father’s Day, why not try your hand at scribbling down your thoughts and feelings by writing him a letter, too?

Apart from the love and affection that we have for our fathers, here are other popular reasons most people choose to honor their dads during Father’s Day.

10 Reasons We Love Our Dads

1. They’re always there for us, no matter what.
2. They’ve seen us at our worst and still love us anyway.
3. They support us, even when we make bad decisions.
4. They teach us valuable life lessons (whether we want to learn them or not).
5. They give us sage advice, even if we don’t always take it.
6. They help us out, even when we don’t ask for it.
7. They make us laugh, even when we don’t want to.
8. They put up with our mood swings and emotional outbursts.
9. They love us unconditionally.
10. They’re our dads and we (or at least a part of our being) came from them!

These ten reasons should be enough to pull most of us through the years as we endure being children of our fathers. These ten reasons, among countless others, should also be enough to justify the main topic of this article…

Why It’s Ok to Roast Your Dad on Father’s Day

So, now that we’re done with the cheese-fest, let’s talk about why it’s ok to roast your dad, dada, pops, papa, tatay, or ama on their special day. After all, what better way to show our dads how much we love and appreciate them than by making fun of them in front of everyone?

Here are a few reasons it’s ok to roast your dad on Father’s Day:

1. They can take it. Our fathers are strong, tough men who can take a little good-natured ribbing. In fact, they might even enjoy it!
2. It’s a way to show our affection. Teasing our fathers is often a sign of endearment. It’s our way of showing them that we care about them and want to make them laugh.
3. They deserve it. Let’s face it, our dads can be pretty embarrassing at times. They’re always doing things that make us cringe, so why not give them a taste of their own medicine?
4. It’s a tradition. Roasting our fathers on Father’s Day has become a time-honored tradition in many families. What better way to celebrate the holiday than by poking fun at the man who started it all?
5. They’ll love it. In the end, our fathers will appreciate the effort we put into making them laugh on their special day. They become the center of attention, and what’s more important than spending time with the people we love and making them feel special, even for just one day every year?

If you aren’t convinced that dads deserve a little bit of roasting, here’s a video of Jimmy Kimmel’s team going around interviewing some “amazing” dads:

So, go ahead and roast your dad this Father’s Day. It’s the perfect way to show him how much you care. And if you have any great ideas to celebrate Father’s Day, let us know in the comments below!