The Story of Mother's Day

[low_delta]

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be
traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient
Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.
During the 1600's, England celebrated a day
called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th
Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to
Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers
of England.

During this time many of the England's poor
worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs
were located far from their homes, the servants
would live at the houses of their employers. On
Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day
off and were encouraged to return home and spend
the day with their mothers. A special cake,
called the mothering cake, was often brought
along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the
celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church"
- the spiritual power that gave them life and
protected them from harm. Over time the church
festival blended with the Mothering Sunday
celebration . People began honoring their mothers
as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first
suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote
the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as
a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold
organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass
ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a
campaign to establish a national Mother's Day.
Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in
Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day
on the second anniversary of her mother's death,
the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's
Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to
ministers, businessman, and politicians in their
quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It
was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was
celebrated in almost every state. President
Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official
announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a
national holiday that was to be held each year on
the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their
own Mother's Day at different times throughout
the year, there are some countries such as
Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and
Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the
second Sunday of May.

Comments

Neat!!!

[msfledermaus.livejournal.com]

*packing up a box of Mom stuff today:)*

Thanks, Kev. I had no idea how this Mom's day thing came about. It's good stuff to know.

Love, the Ms.

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

...and, like nearly every other American holiday, it has become a Hallmark coup. Being my usual contrary self regarding contemporary holidays, I still wonder why we must be expected to profess our love for our mothers on the very day that everyone else is. Isn't it better to remember to do so more often or in an unexpected manner? On the other hand, like nearly all other holidays that I used to dislike (most notably Halloween), it has a great deal of meaning and importance for my daughter. She loves to engage in whatever activities our holidays expect of us, and I love to observe her enthusiasm and joy. When, however, her excitement turns to little more than obligation, I won't mind refraining from such cultural mores once again.

Oh - I sure did enjoy the Mother's Day Tea at her school yesterday, and Sunday should be fun. At school I wondered how difficult it would be for any of her classmates if his/her mother couldn't attend the Tea. Later I heard that a particular school in New York is refraining from Mother's Day celebrations out of respect for the kids who don't have mothers. Interesting....

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

It is all well and good to say, "we shouldn't need a national holiday to treat our mothers right," but the truth is that there aren't enough of us who do. For example, I seldom do anything special for my mother. I like to feel that I treat her right, but nothing *special*. In a perfect world, we wouldn't need Mother's Day, but this isn't a perfect world.

Anyway, I think the bigger problem is when people think all the need to do is send a card. (Or even worse, when the *expect* a card.) This, in my opinion, is the crime of a "Hallmark holiday."

(I wasn't responding to anything in particular that you said, Seren. I was just continuing our usual discussion.)

Re:

[serendipity.livejournal.com]

'Tis true, this ain't no perfect world.

Sometimes, however, people don't know what to do beyond sending a card. Maybe back it up with a phone call? Maybe send flowers? (Which bothers me more than sending the card, actually.) But going beyond that, year after year, can take some real creativity that not everyone has.

(Don't worry, you didn't need to add the parenthetical explanation.)