Father’s Day is an annual holiday to celebrate dads everywhere, but it can have tricky grammar and capitalization rules. Let’s learn more.
Is Father’s Day Capitalized?
Yes, Father’s Day is capitalized when referring to the holiday.
Additional Reading
Reason #1: While Father’s Day is not an official federal holiday, it is considered to be one of the most common celebrations, like Groundhog Day and April Fools’ Day. That’s why it is always capitalized.
Alternatively, the following words like father, mother, and dad are broadly termed as ‘family names.’ They are generally used as a common noun. However, whenever you are using these family names in the form of proper nouns, they need to be capitalized. For your reference, the examples are given below:
I) My father is not well. – Here the word ‘father’ has been used as a common noun and it isn’t capitalized.
II) I have planned to celebrate Father’s Day on 18th June. – Here the word ‘father’ has been used as a proper noun. Thus, it is capitalized.
Reason #2: Father’s Day is widely celebrated to honor fathers as individuals. This is the day when the children portray their sincere respect and gratitude towards their fathers. This day is special and unique to every father. Considering its significance and importance, the term Father’s Day is capitalized.
Does Father’s Day Have an Apostrophe?
Yes, it has an apostrophe after the “r” and before the “s”. Many people often wonder why or even whether there is an apostrophe in Father’s Day. There is an apostrophe in Father’s Day and the reason is quite simple.
Father’s day was meant to celebrate the contribution of a father to his family. Father is not meant as a collective group here. It is not a day to honor all the fathers in the world. It is a day to celebrate each father as an individual.
This is why the apostrophe is after r and before s, so that it indicates that the father is an individual. If the apostrophe was after s, then the meaning completely changes. For example, April Fool’s Day is a day for all the fools of the world. That is why the apostrophe is after L. If Father’s Day were spelled Fathers’ Day, then the holiday would refer to a day for all the fathers in the world to celebrate together.
This is why you will see that people wish Happy Father’s day to their father only and not to everyone. It is different from other popular days like Christmas Day, where you wish everyone.
For more Father’s Day grammar, try the Grammarly Father’s Day quiz: