As you are celebrating Father's Day and sending some love his way, here are some fun facts to add to your family's reverie and make this special occasion more meaningful.

1. E-commerce and greeting cards have made Father's Day celebrated all over the world. It began as a noble idea of Ms Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington, USA who wanted to honor her own father. Inspired by an American Mother's Day celebration in 1909 and the hardships her father experienced in raising her and her 5 siblings alone, Sonora lobbied for a Father's Day festival in the early 20th century and the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington, USA on 19 June 1910. The growing popularity of Father's Day was acknowledged by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. President Lyndon Johnson declared the third Sunday of June as Father's Day in 1966, and further supported by President Richard Nixon in 24 April 1972 with a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

2. Despite having to do more around the house and with the kids, Dad is still valued less at home than Mum with his domestic contributions rated at USD37,835 compared to Mum's USD93,920. This is according to annual data from Insure.com which bases the salary’s value on the most recent salary data available from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics using the most relevant job titles to both parties. So much so, former US President Barack Obama told his campaign supporters that Father's Day was a forgotten holiday and he had observed people make a bigger deal out of Mother's Day.

3. Dads are at the losing end when it comes Father's Day spending. While the holiday has grown in importance over the past 10 year with kids spending more their Dads, Mums are retain the top position. According to RepricerExpress, Americans spend £54 per person on Father’s Day compared to Mother’s Day at £94 per person; Brazilians shell out £112 each for Mother’s Day and £59 on Father’s Day; and Brits spend only £10 for Father’s Day compared to £30 on Mum. Fortunately for Dads in France, citizens spend the same amount on Dad and Mum. Australian Dads are the winner with kids spending more on them than Mum according to Commbank data.

4. Children tend to get their Dads similar gifts for Father's Day. The popular ones include taking their fathers out to dinner, buying electronics, clothing, gift cards, and home improvement products. Hallmark shared that Father's Day is the fourth-largest card-sending holiday in the United States, with 72 million cards exchanged annually.

5. Dads are struggling to play an active role in their children’s early years according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Some 40 million kids aged between 3 and 4 years old in 74 countries have fathers who do not play or engage in early learning activities with them. Governments and the private sector need to help break down the barriers that prevent fathers from providing play and early learning activities with their kids, such as playing, reading, counting, drawing, singing with them and taking them outside.

To all the Dads out there, and mine, "Happy Father's Day"!

SHOUT OUT: To help you honor and celebrate your Dad, we invite you to post photos of your dad and tell us why he is so dear to you on the Affluent Society Media Facebook.

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