By: Kurt Wicklund
17/06/2020
Father’s Day is just around the corner, and what an interesting celebration it will be this year! As the parents of two young children, my wife and I usually give each other the day “off” on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The festivities usually start off with breakfast in bed and some homemade presents from our kids. For me, Father’s Day typically includes a round of golf, a meal out at a local restaurant, and some kind of concert or event at night with the other dads in my neighbourhood. It’s always a fun, social, jam-packed day full of my favourite activities.
In many of the countries that WorldStrides Explorica visits, Father’s Day traditions are quite different from my own. In Germany, men dress up in special outfits to celebrate Vatertag and spend the day outside together, whereas Brazilian families prepare churrasco (flank steak) and celebrate with dinner and gifts. Each year in Mexico City, a 21 km race called the Carrera del Dia del Padre occurs, followed by a carnival full of authentic Mexican foods. Japanese families give flowers and homemade glasses to their fathers, then finish the day with a crab and prawn dinner. In Portugal, the celebration for dads starts with a church service, and in Thailand the king often gives a speech in honour and recognition of fathers and grandfathers.
This year, in the midst of a global pandemic, I imagine Father’s Day celebrations across the world will look a bit different. We’ll be able to video chat, participate in socially distanced get-togethers, and enjoy old fashioned phone calls–but we cannot ignore the overwhelming sense of loss for the fathers and grandfathers who will not be able to celebrate with their families in person.
The beautiful thing about Father’s Day this year is that, regardless of country, culture, or tradition, fathers everywhere will be experiencing the day in a similar way. We are all living under some type of social restriction. We are all aware that we have a ways to go before things are “normal” again. We are all fighting to keep the ones we love safe, healthy, and together. Globally, we will experience Father’s Day with a sameness that doesn’t normally exist.
I urge you to take Father’s Day to reflect on what’s important. Reflect on how lucky you are, how you are loved, and how humans have an innate drive to survive and push through difficult times. Our similarities this year greatly outshine our differences.
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and grandads who are managing through these trying times, across the world, together.
Kurt Wicklund is a Senior Account Manager from our Toronto office and has been working with WorldStrides Explorica since 2008.