Father’s Day — Father’s Day is celebrated annually on the third Sunday in June. This year, Father’s Day falls on June 19th.

Here’s the story of this special celebration:

“The idea of Father’s Day was conceived slightly more than a century ago by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm. A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — 100 years ago, June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth. The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.” — Source: US Census Bureau: Father’s Day Centennial: June 20, 2010

Bunker Hill Day is observed annually on June 17 in Massachusetts.

This holiday commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775), widely considered to be the battle that “marked the beginning of the end of British rule in North America.” Though the colonists lost the battle, they more than proved their mettle and decimated the British troops. This famous battle actually took place on neighboring Breed’s Hill Despite this fact, the resulting monument was built on Bunker Hill.

Bunker Hill Day a legal holiday in the city of Boston and in Suffolk County, with the exception of state and local government offices which now remain open.

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14th, as this is the anniversary of the Flag Resolution by which the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the American Flag. Flag Day was celebrated unofficially for decades before President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation officially designating June 14th as Flag Day. In August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

National Men’s Health Week is observed every year as the week leading up to Father’s Day. “The purpose of Men’s Health Week is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.”

This year, get into the act and “wear blue” during Men’s Health Week.

World Oceans Day (WOD) celebrates the intrinsic beauty and value of the world’s oceans and underscores their critical connection to our daily lives. This celebration also aims to raise awareness of threats to the oceans and encourage people worldwide to take action to protect and to conserve them.

Shavu’ot, the Festival of Weeks, occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). Shavu’ot, is a festival with both historical and agricultural significance. It commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.