The Origins Of Mothers Day

Home
>
Holiday
>
The Origins Of Mothers Day

The Origins Of Mothers Day

Today Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday is celebrated all over the world. For florists and card shops the event is one of the highlights of the year, but the roots of Mother's Day are not commercial.

Motherhood has been celebrated since ancient times. The ancient Greeks paid homage to Rhea, the Mother of Gods; and there are records of the ancient Romans worshiping a mother Goddess known as Cybele as early as 260 BC. Festivals took place in the spring which was the most fertile time of the year.

The more modern way of honouring mothers began in England in the 1600s where Mothering Sunday was observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This day is also known as 'Refreshment Sunday', the only day when you are allowed to eat or do whatever you have given up for Lent. Not surprisingly, families came together and took the opportunity to party with a big meal at which mother was treated as the guest of honour. Traditionally, mothers were given posies of flowers and a cake.

The term 'Mothering Sunday' is now falling into disuse and has mostly been replaced by 'Mother's Day', which is used the world over.

In the USA there were several attempts to introduce a Mother's Day as a way to celebrate peace and heal the scars of war. Julia Ward, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested the idea in 1872. But the idea didn't really take off until Anna Jarvis campaigned for the establishment of a Mother's Day to commemorate her own mother who died in 1905. Ward's mother herself had tried to establish a similar holiday, Mother's Friendship Day, to heal the pain of the Civil War.

The first Mother's Day in the USA was held in 1907 when Julia Ward held a ceremony to honour her mother. She then successfully campaigned for a formal holiday to honour mothers and by 1911 most states had taken up the idea. This was followed in 1914 by a declaration by President Woodrow Wilson that Mother's Day should be celebrated as a national holiday on the second Sunday in May. The idea quickly spread to Canada and Mexico and many more countries throughout the world.

The commercialisation of Mother's Day quickly followed, much to the disgust of Anna Jarvis who was arrested in 1923 at a Mother's Day festival for trying to stop women selling flowers. Jarvis said "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment not profit".

Ironically Anna Jarvis campaigned for many years against the commercialisation of Mother's Day, the day she had worked so hard to establish.

Although she had no children of her own, each Mother's Day Anna received hundreds of cards from all over the world. Anna Jarvis died in 1948.

***************************************************************
Author: Tony Luck who runs on online personalized gift shop specializing in personalized ceramics - greeting cards (yes, ceramic greeting cards!), commemorative plates and mugs.
***************************************************************

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Ill. House panel recommends governor's impeachment (AP)

AP - A key panel unanimously recommended Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich be impeached for abusing his power, mismanaging Illinois government and committing possible criminal acts.

Cheney: No one saw economic crisis coming (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that he sees no reason for President George W. Bush to pre-emptively pardon anyone at the CIA involved in harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. "I don't have any reason to believe that anybody in the agency did anything illegal," he said.

Democrats criticize Obama's proposed tax cuts (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama's proposed tax cuts ran into opposition Thursday from senators in his own party who said they wouldn't do much to stimulate the economy or create jobs. Senators from both parties agreed that Congress should do something to stimulate the economy. But Democratic senators emerging from a private meeting of the Senate Finance Committee criticized business and individual tax cuts in Obama's stimulus plan.

UN halts Gaza aid after Israel attack on workers (AP)

AP - The U.N. suspended food deliveries to Gaza and the Red Cross accused Israel of blocking medical assistance after forces fired on aid workers, killing two, as the threat of a wider conflict emerged with Lebanon.

Obama: Congress must act boldly and now on economy (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama implored Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker. Leading lawmakers set an informal goal of mid-February for enacting tax cuts and government spending that could cost as much as $1 trillion.

Madoff 'victims' do math, realize they profited (AP)

AP - The many Bernard Madoff investors who withdrew money from their accounts over the years are now wrestling with an ethical and legal quandary.

Fatal police shooting sparks violent protests (AP)

AP - In grainy cell-phone videos played over and over on the Internet, police officers force an unarmed black man to the ground and hold him face-down on a crowded train platform. Suddenly one of the officers draws his gun and fatally shoots the man in the back then looks up.

Court papers: Gotti neighbor was dissolved in acid (AP)

AP - It is perhaps the most intriguing unsolved mystery from the gaudy gangland career of John Gotti: Whatever happened to the neighbor who accidentally ran over and killed the mobster's 12-year-old son and then vanished?

Man allegedly caused flats with nails in driveways (AP)

AP - Police in upstate New York say a man has been sprinkling roofing nails on the driveways of people he didn't like to cause flat tires for two years. Stony Point police Lt. Peter Quinn said Michael Delisio was arrested Tuesday after an officer staking out one victim's home saw nails being thrown from Delisio's car.

Smoltz to Red Sox; Baldelli, Penny will join him (AP)

AP - John Smoltz and Brad Penny are on their way to the Red Sox. Rocco Baldelli was already in Boston, holding up his new jersey.

Israel faces criticism as Gaza toll hits 765 (Reuters)

Reuters - Recovery teams ventured into battlegrounds of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to gather bodies from the rubble, and Hamas officials said the Palestinian toll in Israel's 13 day-old offensive rose to 765 dead.

Obama pushes stimulus, warns on recession (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama warned on Thursday the U.S. economy could stay mired in recession for years without bold action and he urged lawmakers to work day and night to pass a massive stimulus plan.

Citi backs mortgage bankruptcy reform: senators (Reuters)

Reuters - Financial giant Citigroup Inc has agreed to support a rewrite of bankruptcy law being proposed in the U.S. Congress to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, lawmakers said on Thursday.

Obama names Virginia gov as Democratic Party head (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named Tim Kaine as head of the Democratic Party on Thursday, rewarding an early supporter with a high-profile political post even as he continues to serve as Virginia governor.

Madoff had $173 million in checks ready, U.S. says (Reuters)

Reuters - Accused swindler Bernard Madoff had signed checks totaling more than $173 million in his office desk ready to be sent out before his arrest, U.S. prosecutors said in court papers on Thursday asking a judge to jail him.

Illinois panel recommends governor's impeachment (Reuters)

Reuters - A legislative committee on Thursday recommended the impeachment of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, citing widespread abuse of power including allegations he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Wal-Mart and other U.S. retailers warn after dismal holiday (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other top U.S. retailers delivered disappointing December same-store sales and profit warnings on Thursday, sparking fresh recession concerns that hit stock and currency markets.

EU seeks gas supply return after deal on monitors (Reuters)

Reuters - Europe on Friday looked for a swift restoration of gas supplies, after striking a deal with Moscow on monitoring gas shipments via Ukraine that have been halted by a rancorous pricing dispute with Kiev.

Diplomats push for Gaza ceasefire as UN agency halts work (AFP)

AFP - Diplomatic efforts to end the Gaza conflict intensified Friday with Western and Arab diplomats agreeing to call for an immediate ceasefire as the death toll from the two-week-old war rose past 760.

EU announces breakthrough in Russia-Ukraine gas dispute (AFP)

AFP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin agreed Thursday on the terms for the deployment of gas monitors in Ukraine, paving the way for an end to a Europe-wide energy crisis, the EU presidency said.

The Origins Of Mothers Day

Holiday Holiday