Three activities to do on Father's Day

"One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters." George Herbert

Father's Day is celebrated on different dates worldwide, and here in Finland, the second Sunday in November is the Finnish way of celebrating father's day.

The day is celebrated in similar ways everywhere, usually giving homemade gifts and buying suitable presents is our way of expressing our appreciation and affection to someone special.

Foster fathers, stepfathers, adoptive fathers, biological father's and other father figures play different roles in our lives. Some fathers are present, some are just for a short period, and some are absent such as the story of Bill in our previous article of a foreign father's wish. As foreigners living in Finland, it is essential to understand the parent's culture, values, and history unfamiliar to us. It is also fundamental to recognize the impact it has on our lives.

This article aims to give additional ways of celebrating Father's Day and finding profound and meaningful activities.

Connect with memories

Everyone has lovely and meaningful memories worth sharing, as well as precious family stories and forgotten family photos. Reminiscing these family collections is full of values, experiences, and life lessons, which we must preserve and pass to new generations. While bringing some nostalgia, discovering these memories could also help us get closer as a family and emphasize belonging. Indeed, we all agree that listening to a father's childhood memories or watching old photos is essential and heartwarming and exciting, fun, and joyful.

Learn about family history

Capturing and knowing about our family history matters and has a beneficial impact on us and our lives. It is undoubtedly a powerful knowledge that can strengthen the family when we learn about our cultural background, past and family members, family tree, names, birthplaces and dates, where they came from, and what they mean to us. Perhaps it is necessary to mention that learning about family history goes beyond finding names, places, or dates..but it is about deep connections with our roots, values, and worths and learning lessons of life from them. Our relationships with other people and the way we connect with them are essential in social life. It is valid with the people in our present time and our connection with our past, which teaches us resilience, self-esteem, compassion, responsibility, and the opportunity to understand our future better.

Explore memorable locations

Walk or cycle in your father's old neighborhood and take a trip to his past by visiting significant places such as previous workplaces or schools. Maybe you will bump into someone who knew him in childhood. These locations might not exist anymore as they used to. It is why it's a pleasure to talk about it; it refreshes memories and can share amazing stories related to the locations and the history of your family and what it means to them.

"If you want a happier family, create, refine and retell the story of your family's positive moments and your ability to bounce back from the difficult ones. That act alone may increase the odds that your family will thrive for many generations to come."

— Bruce Feiler, "The Stories That Bind Us," New York Times, March 2013

To finish this article, here are some recipes as well to enjoy. A unique breakfast and take it to the bed for father's day; kids could prepare this delicious jam to be eaten with a warm toast and a glass of fresh homemade orange juice plus a wonderful super-tasty garlic-peanut next to it. If you have time and would like to spend more fun time with kids on preparing a sweet treat too, here is a simple, delicious paistos Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble, which you could eat alone or with ice cream as a super special meal for daddy's breakfast.