|
"A Mother holds her children's hands for awhile; their hearts, forever."
 'Mother' - a simple yet a powerful word! The very thought of a mother is enough to soothe a troubled mind, rejuvenate a tired soul, ring bells of joy in a heart that seems to be engulfed by sorrows. This word weaves magic in the hearts and lives of mankind, and it is very common to see a person moved to tears the instant this word is uttered. Animals do not differ much from human beings. The mother elephant who charges the offender in fierce protection of its child, the aggressive atacks by mother dogs and cats, on anything that threatens the safety of their babies, are all but a small dimension of the complex role handled by a mother. For a mother is someone who conceives, gives birth to, raises and nurtures a child. What better occasion for us than Mother's Day to reciprocate our love and care for that special woman who goes to the ends of the world just to see us happy??
The Mother's Day that we celebrate in the present times, has undergone various stages of transformation. The origin and development of this special day can be traced to the Greek and Roman periods.
The ancient Greeks worshipped Rhea, the wife of Cronus, and mother of Gods and Goddesses. As early as 250 BC, the Romans also worshipped Cybele, a mother Goddesses. This was known as Hilaria, and it lasted for three days, called the Ides of March (March 15 to March 18). Interestingly, both festivals did not honour biological mothers, as it is done in the present times.
England observed "Mothering Sunday", or the "Mid-Lent-Sunday, on the fourth Sunday in Lent. This event was found to be more in line with the Mother's Day celebrations of modern times. It was customary in the 18th and the early 19th centuries in England, for all those working away from home to be given a holiday to return to their native place. They presented their mothers back home with a cake and little nosegays of violets and other wild flowers gathered in the hedgerows as they walked along the country lanes. Whole families attended church together and there was a dinner of roast lamb, or veal, and the mother was treated as queen of the feast. Everything was done to make her happy. The customs of the Mothering Sunday in England began to decline with the onset of the Industrial Revolution leading to changes in the societal patterns.
The United States made its first observation of a Mother's Day in1872 when Julia Ward Howe, social reformer and poet who penned the words to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," suggested a day to honor mothers. This day, which she felt should be dedicated to peace, was celebrated by gatherings that she organized and held in Boston. This tradition spread, and was later organized in other areas of the country as well.
In 1907, Anna Jarvis took Howe's idea a step further and began painstakingly campaigning for a nationally recognized Mother's Day. In the late nineteenth century, Anna's own mother had tried to establish "Mother's Friendship Days" as a way to heal the scars of the Civil War. Persuading her mother's church in Grafton to celebrate Mother's Day on the anniversary of Jarvis's mother's death - the second Sunday in May - our Mother's Day holiday as it is now celebrated was born. Jarvis also began the tradition of wearing a carnation in honor or memory of our mothers - a coloured carnation if your mother is still living, a white one if she is deceased.
Anna's push to make Mother's Day a national event involved letter writing to ministers, politicians and businessmen. By 1911, Mother's Day was being celebrated in almost every state in the country. On 9th of May 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official proclamation that Mother's Day would be a national holiday to be celebrated annually on the second Sunday in May.
Mother's Day is still celebrated around the world at various times throughout the year. Countries like Finland, Denmark and Australia observe a holiday on the second Sunday in May.
More
Articles Published
on 30th April 2004 
|
