Tomorrow is Ascension Day, it is also father’s day in Germany. The tradition is fathers are gathering together and have some good old beer. This cheerful picture underlying a serious problem of alcoholism. Not to mention how the domestic violence victims feel on this day. But it is up to you to define the father’s day by the way you celebrate it. It could also be meaningful if you want it to be.
“Liebster Vater,”
“Dearest father,”
this is how Franz Kafka (1883-1924) begins his letter to his father. The letter was anything but dear. In “Lieber Papa” are stories about father selected by Marie Bernhard, with illustrations by Antje Damm. Both books describe the father as authentic as in their real life. Pleasant and unpleasant experiences, consciously or unconsciously passed from previous generation to the next generation.
No amount of regret can change the past, but there is a future. Like all relationships, we can and must constantly forgiving each other and starting over again. The experiences told in these two books might help us to be a better daughter, son and father. Have a very meaningful father’s day!