Why Mendoza is the only province that does not celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday

This Sunday is Father’s Day in Argentina. However, in Mendoza the date is different (or original). Before, the country celebrated every August 24, but that changed.  Initially, August 24, 1958, in honor of José de San Martín, considered “Father of the Country”, was the day adopted to honor the fathers of the country. But, since 1966 the date was changed to coincide with that of the United States. The origin of the festivities in the United States dates back to June 1909, when Sonora Smart Dodd decided to honor his father, Willian Dodd: a veteran of the American Civil War. In 1966, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson set the third Sunday in June as a commemorative date. It was then that Argentina decided to also use that date to honor the parents. Mendoza refused to change the celebration and decided to pay tribute to the liberator of America through Law 5131/87 that established that Father’s Day would continue to be on August 24. In 2017, argentina’s former vice president, Julio Cobos, raised a bill that established “August 24 of each year as ‘Father’s Day,’ in honor of the date General José de San Martín” had his daughter Mercedes. The decision generated controversy since, if sanctioned, the celebration would be close to that of “Children’s Day”.  The Senate approved and sent the bill to deputies, however, it was not successful. 

Original source in Spanish