湖北省武漢市 梁小明 選注

The idea of a special day to honour1mothers was first put forward in America in 1907.Two years later a woman,Mrs.John Bruce Dodd,in the state of Washington proposed a similar day to honour the head of the family—the father.Her mother died when she was very young,and she was brought up2by her father.She loved her father very much.

In response to3Mrs.Dodd’s idea that same year—1909,the state governor of Washington officially proclaimed the third Sunday in June Father’s Day.The idea was officially approved by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916.In 1924,President Calvin Coolidge recommended national observance of the occasion“to establish more intimate4relations between fathers and their children,and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.”The red or white rose is recognized as the official Father’s Day flower.

Father’s Day took longer to establish on a national scale than Mother’s Day,but as the idea gained popularity,tradesmen and manufacturers began to see the commercial possibilities.They encouraged sons and daughters to honour their fathers with small thank-you presents,such as a tie or a pair of socks,as well as by sending greeting cards.

專門用一天向母親表示敬意的想法是1907年在美國首先提出來的。2年以后華盛頓州的一位婦女約瀚·布魯斯·多德夫人提出應有類似母親節(jié)的一天來向一家之長的父親表示敬意。多德夫人年幼喪母，由父親把她帶大。她非常愛自己的父親。

在多德夫人提出她的想法的同一年—1909年，華盛頓州州長作出反應，宣布六月的第三個星期日為父親節(jié)。這個想法在1916年被伍德羅·威爾遜總統(tǒng)正式批準。1924年，卡爾文·柯立芝總統(tǒng)建議把父親節(jié)作為一個全國性的節(jié)日，以便“在父親和子女間建立更親密的關系，并且使父親銘記自己應盡的全部責任”。紅色或白色玫瑰是公認的父親節(jié)的節(jié)花。

父親節(jié)在全美國作為節(jié)日確定下來，比母親節(jié)經(jīng)過的時間要長一些。因為建立父親節(jié)的想法很得人心，所以商人和制造商開始看到商機。他們不僅鼓勵做兒女的給父親寄賀卡，而且鼓動他們買領帶、襪子之類的小禮品送給父親，以表達對父親的敬重。

Notes:

1.honourv.尊敬 2.bring up養(yǎng)育；教育

3.in response to響應，回答 4.intimateadj.親密的