When is Fathers Day celebrated in different countries

For anyone who has lived in a different country to your home country, you may have been caught out by this and found yourself thinking – when is Fathers Day?

I know I have.

As it turns out, Fathers Day (as with Mothers Day) is celebrated on many different dates around the world. 

To ensure you are well informed and never accidentally forget to celebrate, I’ve included a list below showing where and when Fathers Day is recognised. 

In fact, if you are feeling particularly worldly, or just want to push for some extra Fathers Day love, you might want to take advantage of this and start celebrating it multiple times throughout the year.

Good luck trying that one!

Why is Fathers Day celebrated on different dates in different countries? 

Fathers day is a relatively new concept in most countries, whereas in some countries it is a much older tradition that is often linked to religious events.

For instance, in many Catholic countries in Europe, they have been recognising Fathers Day since the middle ages. The date was traditionally tied to Saint Joseph’s Day, which falls on March 19th. And this continues to be the date for Fathers Day in several European catholic countries such as Italy, Portugal and Spain as well as places like Bolivia and Honduras in Latin America.

Whereas the USA only adopted Father’s Day in the early twentieth-century and celebrate it on the third Sunday in June. There are conflicting stories and theories as to why this date was chosen. Some believe it is tied to the pagan calendar as it roughly coincides with the Summer Solstice each year.

Whatever the reason, many other countries have chosen to fall in line and also celebrate Fathers Day on the third Sunday in June. This is now the case in the USA, Canada and the UK, as well as over 80 other countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas.

But not all countries are aligned.  

Whilst June is by far the most popular month, some countries choose to celebrate Fathers Day at various times during June (see below). 

And several other countries choose to observe Fathers Day during different months of the year, which is often tied to their own national traditions or seasonal influences.

In Thailand Father’s Day is celebrated on December 5, to align with the Kings birthday. 

In Germany, Fathers day is celebrated with a national holiday on Ascension Day, which is forty days after Easter each year.

And in Australia and New Zealand, Father’s Day is on the first Sunday in September, which coincides with the start of Spring in Australia, but not New Zealand. 

That’s right, we can’t even agree on when Spring starts, but at least we have aligned our Fathers Days. 

Fiji and Papua New Guinee are the only other two places that also celebrate on this date. 

As you can see, there is a lot of variety across the world, so I hope the table below helps remove some of the confusion. 

Fathers Day dates in different countries

Month	Day	Countries	Notes
Feb	23	Belarus, Russia
Mar	19	Andorra, Angola, Belgium, Bolivia, Croatia, Honduras, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain	Saint Joseph’s Day
May	7	Kazakhstan
	8	South Korea	Parents’ Day
	Second Sunday	Romania
	Third Sunday	Tonga
	varies	Germany	40 days after easter (Ascension Day)
Jun	First Sunday	Lithuania, Switzerland
	Second Sunday	Austria, Belgium
	12	Bulgaria
	Third Sunday	Afghanistan, Algeria, Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Ghana, GreeceGuernsey, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Macao, Mali, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
	17	El Salvador, Guatemala
	21	Egypt, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Syria, United Arab Emirates
	23	Nicaragua, Poland
	Last Sunday	Haiti
Jul	Second Sunday	Uruguay
	Last Sunday	Dominican Republic
Aug	8	China, Taiwan
	Second Sunday	Brazil, Samoa
	Last Monday	South Sudan
Sep	First Sunday	Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea
	Second Sunday	Latvia
Oct	First Sunday	Luxembourg
Nov	Second Sunday	Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
	12	Indonesia
Dec	5	Thailand	Birthday of King Bhumibol

You see. No matter what time of year it is, it’s probably Fathers Day somewhere in the world.

If I’ve missed a country in the list above or made a mistake with any of the dates, please let me know in the comments below.

You can read more of my articles like this one on TheDadTrain.com