The Making of Mother's Day
The Making of Mother's Day
The Making of Mother's Day
As most of us know it, Mother's Day is a special day for letting our dear Mums know how important they are to us, usually by lavishing them with Mothers Day presents.
But do you know why or how this day came into being? When it was first observed? Who celebrated it? If you don't, then read on and gain an insight into the incredible history that surrounds Mothers Day
Believe it or not, the origin of this day harks back to the era of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The Greeks used the occasion to honour Rhea, the wife of Cronus and the mother of all gods.
What's more, Ancient Romans celebrated a spring festival, known as Hilaria, dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess.
More recently, the tradition of giving Mothers Day gifts and cards dates back to the 1600's in England. At this time, Mothering Sunday was celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honour mothers. After a prayer service in Church to respect the Virgin Mary, children brought Mothers Day flowers and gifts to pay tribute to their own Mums.
However, the celebration of this Mothers Day date as it is seen today is a new phenomenon not even a hundred years old! The existence of this day is largely owing to the hard work of the revolutionary women of their times, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis.
Born in New York, activist, writer and poet, Julia Ward Howe, proposed the official idea of Mother's Day in 1872. After witnessing some of the devastating effects of the Civil War death, disease, starvation and poverty she began campaigning for an annual celebration of Mother's Day, which would be dedicated to peace and worldwide harmony between all women.
Julia even created an appeal to women, urging them to rise against war in her well-known Mother's Day Proclamation':
"Arise then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
... We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs...."
Like Julia, Anna Jarvis was a huge power behind the creation of this celebration. Anna was inspired by her own Mum, Mrs Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, an activist and social worker, who passionately believed that someday, someone must honour all mothers, living and dead, and recognise everything they do.
A devoted daughter, Anna never forgot her mother's dream of having Mother's Day, and when her Mother died in 1905, she decided to make this dream come true.
To begin with, Anna passed out 500 white carnations, her mother's favourite flower, at her mother's Church in Grafton, West Virginia, one for each mother in the congregation. Anna felt they symbolised a mother's pure love.
Soon after, Anna, along with her followers, wrote a letter to people of power, campaigning for the official declaration of a Mother's Day holiday. All her hard work paid off; by 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state and then in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution, establishing Mother's Day.
Nowadays, the tradition of buying gifts for mothers, cards and writing Mothers Day poems for this special day is celebrated around the world. Thanks to these two women, Mums everywhere are given the respect they deserve. So now you've heard the historical spiel, hopefully you'll wish your Mum "Happy Mothers Day" and mean it!
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