Tėvo diena

LTTėvo dienos istoriografija skurdi - tai nuotrupos, kur greta Motinos dienos apibūdinimų ar kitų švenčių paminėta ir Tėvo diena. Juozo Kudirkos knygutėje "Motinos diena" du puslapiai skirti raginimui minėti ir Tėvo (Kudirka 1989: 25-26), kaip ir Angelės Vyšniauskaitės knygoje "Mūsų metai ir šventės" (Vyšniauskaitė 1993: 84-85)1. Tėvo dienos svarba suvokta dar tarpukariu, kai Motinos dieną minėti jau buvo įprasta. Intensyviai ją propagavo, rengė katalikų organizacijos, tačiau ši diena netapo populiari. Antai laikraštyje "Darbininkas" 1938 m. skaitytojai agituoti gerbti tėvą: "Tėvo diena pas mus įvesti rūpinamasi jau antri metai, bet dar labai mažai kur ji tepaminėta. Pradžioje norėta įvesti pirmų sekmadienį birželio, bet dabar Tėvo dienai skiriamas paskutinis sekmadienis rugsėjo. Atrodo patogus laikas: praėję didieji ūkio darbai, galima kiek laisuiau atsikvėpti, giliau į save atsižvelgti" (K. V. D. 1938). Ne lengviau ši šventė skynėsi kelią ir JAV, kur ir atsirado2. Tėvo diena intensyviai propaguota verslininkų Didžiosios depresijos JAV metu, tačiau, kaip teigia mokslininkai, šventė nebūtų išpopuliarėjusi, jei tėvystės kultūroje nebūtų įvykę progresyvių permainų, prasidėjusių dar XIX a. irXX a. sandūroje ir besitęsusių depresijos metais (LaRossa 2007: 91). [Iš straipsnio, p. 248]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Šventės; Tėvo diena; Sveikinimai; Vaišės; Tradicijos; Vilniečiai; Lithuania; Holidays; Father's Day; Greetings; Feast; Traditions; Vilnius residents.

ENThe importance of commemorating Father's Day was realized yet in the period between the great wars, when the holiday of Mother's Day was already established. It was intensively promoted and enacted by Catholic organizations, however the holiday has never become popular. There were attempts to re-establish it along with Mother's Day in 1987 through the initiative of J. Kudirka, suggesting the idea of "father - the guardian of the home and supporter of the children". However, these initiatives did not become popular. This idea similarly struggled to gain hold in the US, where it originated. Father's Day was intensively promoted by entrepreneurs during Great Depression in the US, however became popular only after some progressive changes in the culture of fatherhood. For a while in the restored independent Lithuania Father's Day was on the list of commemorative days. In 2008 it was declared a public holiday, and just before that paternity leave was legislated (from 2006), which promoted the formation of closer relationships in the family between a father and a child. In the twenty-first century, Lithuanian media was more concerned with polemics about status of the father in modern society, such as paternity leave, etc. Another group of articles presents interviews with famous people and reports on the holiday, and offers congratulations on the occasion. Father's Day only recently has become more popular in Lithuania. As the fieldwork demonstrated, the celebration of this occasion depends on present relationships and on family traditions. Divorce, absence of a father, lack of communication with children do not promote celebration of Father's Day. The majority of Vilnians that do not celebrate this holiday are from the Russian background. Among Polish families, similarly to the Lithuanian ones, celebration was absent in the families where the father was deceased.Those who grew up without a father, or were in conflict, congratulated grandfathers or husbands. A couple of respondents (Russians) said that they congratulated their fathers on 23 February (it was the Soviet Army and Navy Day, now celebrated in Russia as Defender of the Fatherland Day). A larger proportion of the interviewed Vilnians congratulated their fathers (grandfathers) at least in word (Lithuanians and Russians), although often pleasing them with some sweets (home baked pie or cake, candies, chocolate) (Poles), flowers, little gifts (Russians) and practical things (Poles). A festive table for the entire family on Father's Day is more appreciated by the Poles. The festive table, even though more seldom arranged, would be a modest table of sweets. Among drinks brandy and wine were popular, with some differences among ethnic groups being such, that Lithuanians more often drink beer and the Poles - champagne. The festive meal was mostly prepared by women, yet significant part of the Russians exchanged a meal at home for a restaurant. Any outdoor activities on the occasion of Father's Day - travelling, fishing or doing something else as a family - is still a novelty for Vilnians. Most were at home with the father, sometimes helping him with household chores, watching TV or having a walk, and if there was a concert downtown, they would go for that. Others went to visit graves and churches (which correlates with the number of deceased fathers and partially agrees with the numbers of church attendance on Sundays) (Poles).In summary, it is noteworthy that in marking the day the Celebrators create the atmosphere of festivity by visiting the father and congratulating him. Inclusion of Father's Day in the festive calendar and popularization of the paternity leave opportunity helps the development of closer ties with children, strengthening status of the father as the child raiser and educator in the family. The research has shown that this holiday has a tendency to stay and that the view of fatherhood is changing in the positive direction. [From the publication]