The Mothers Day Story.
Whether you refer to your Mother as Mam as we do in the North East of England or Mom as they do in the U.S.A. Our Mam’s are so special and help us to ‘become’ the people we are as adults and influence how we live our lives.
Mothers Day is celebrated in over 50 countries around the world, at different times of the month of May for the most part, in some countries, at an entirely different time of the year.
The ‘celebration of Mothers’ initially came about to honor all Mothers and thank them for the services to individual children and consequently, the development of humankind.
The Mother’s Day Story in the time of the Greeks and Romans:
The tradition of Mothers Day started with the ancient Greeks as so many of our celebrations and cultural celebrations have. They first celebrated their annual spring festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many Gods and Goddesses in Greek mythology.
The Romans also celebrated a spring festival by the name of ‘Hilaria’ in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess, some 250 years before Jesus Christ was born.
The Mother’s Day Story in the UK:
For those of us living in the UK, Mothers Day or Mothering Sunday as it was initially known, began several years before the tradition as we know it today.
Mothering Sunday came to be celebrated following the practice in Great Britain in the 17th century when Mothers of poorer families would send their children to work as apprentices and domestic servants to the richer families.
These children were allowed to visit their ‘Mothers Church’ or the Cathedral of their home town annually in the middle of the fasting month of Lent. Children met their mothers after visiting the church and presented them with flowers and special ‘Mothering Cakes’. The custom received a set back with the advent of the Industrial Revolution when lifestyles changed. American soldiers contributed in the revival of the tradition after the World War II.
The Mother’s Day Story in the United States of America:
The story of Mothers Day in USA began with the efforts of writer and poet, Julia Ward Howe in 1872. Women’s activist Julia utilised her potential to further the cause of Mothers Day. She wrote a powerful Mothers Day Proclamation in Boston in 1870 and demanded declaration of official holiday and celebrations for Mothers Day. Her idea did gain popularity, however she was unable to get the idea implemented.
The Mother’s Day Story and the Struggle of Anna Jarvis
A loving daughter from West Virginia, Anna Jarvis is recognised as the ‘Founder of Mothers Day’ in the states and the ‘Mother of Mothers Day’. Anna kept the word of her activist mother, Mrs Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis who once expressed a wish that someone should strive to provide mothers their due recognition.
After her mothers death in 1905, Anna’s determination became strong and along with several supporters started lobbying for the official holiday on Mothers Day by writing letters to the people in power. To celebrate Mothers Day, Anna began to send her mothers favorite flowers, carnations in her local church requesting people to wear them in honor of their mothers.
The idea gained immense popularity over the years and in 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognise Mothers Day holiday. On May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
Please feel free to share this post on your wall in recognition of your Mother or someone who has been a Mother to you!
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