I moved to Melbourne from Singapore in 2019 and I was introduced many things – vegemite, Queen Victoria Market, how Australia celebrates the Queen’s birthday on different days and Father’s Day in September.

I am a father of three and I relish Father’s Day (who doesn’t love to be gifted with something) but having it in September is just too late down the year. I was used to celebrating it in June in Singapore (and the rest of the world for that matter) and now my instagram feed is inundated with my Father’s Day posts in June and I am left out of it all.

The majority of countries, including the US and the UK, celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday of June. It was argued, back in the day, that Father’s Day was a day used to worship the sun, where in some pagan cultures, consider the sun as the father of the universe. But the idea of a special day to honour fathers was inspired by the American Mother’s Day celebration and so the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910.

Then tell me why? Why, Father’s Day in September Australia?

One common-held theory was that after the US launched Father’s Day in 1910, Australia was keen to adopt the idea. However, in order to avoid having to wait an entire calendar year to celebrate Father’s Day, Australia decided to pick September as the chosen month.

Another theory is that apparently, in Australia people suffer from “holiday fatigue”.

Another theory is that apparently, in Australia people suffer from “holiday fatigue”. In the month of December to June, the Australian calendar is packed with holidays. Straight after Christmas is Boxing Day and New Years and Anzac Day and then Easter weekend, the Queen’s birthday and Mother’s Day and Labour Day and Australians get tired (and broke) and suffer “holiday fatigue”. Therefore to allow an ample recovery period from this fatigue, Father’s Day was moved to September and also because, in the third year of the quarter, nothing seems to be really happening in the calendar as well.

But the real reason it is in September, according to me at least, is purely all down to consumerism! The marketing and retail sector chose September (and Father's Day) to celebrate consumerism. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining because I am the one receiving the gifts this time round, but September also coincides with spring – the perfect time to start marketing dad gifts like sporting, camping and fishing items, as Australia ushers in the warmer weather and welcomes the end of year summer getaways.

Do you agree? What do you think is the real reason Father’s Day is in September? Let me know in the comments below.

If you're looking for something for Dad, drop by my Etsy store to grab some gift ideas.