Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a holiday honoring
mothers, celebrated in many places around the world.
Mothers Day is
celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May in the United States. In the United States,
Mother's Day was copied from England by social activist Julia Ward Howe after
the American Civil War with a call to unite women against war. She wrote the
Mother's Day Proclamation. According to the National Restaurant Association,
Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a
restaurant in the United States.
History of Mother's Day
by David Beart
Mothers have been venerated for centuries. The tradition continues
today, with Mother's Day being one of the most celebrated occasions of the
year.
Ancient Greeks held a spring festival in honor of Rhea, the
mother of gods and goddesses. The Greek celebration involved honey cakes,
drinks and flowers at dawn on the festival day. Ancient Romans also had a
festival to honor Cybele, a mother goddess. The festival of Cybele lasted three
days and became notorious enough to have Cybele’s followers
banished from Rome. For the ancient Celts, the first milk of the ewes marked
the beginning of celebrations in honor of mothers.
In the early
seventeenth century, Britons began observing Mothering Sunday. This occasion
started as a holiday for servants who were encouraged to return home, with a
special mothering cake, to visit their mothers. Mothering Sunday was observed
on the fourth Sunday in Lent.
In the United States, three women were
involved in the creation of Mother's Day. One of these women, Julia Ward Howe,
was known for writing the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1870 she
tried to issue a peace manifesto at an international peace conference. By 1872
she was actively promoting the idea of a mother's day for peace. Her Mother's
Day for Peace eventually took place in 18 cities and was carried on for about
30 years, until Mrs. Howe moved on to other activities and ceased financing the
observance.
Mrs. Howe was influenced by Anna Reeves Jarvis, who started
"Mothers' Work Days" in 1858, in an effort to improve health and safety
conditions for workers. During the Civil War, she mobilized women to help the
wounded, regardless of which side of the conflict they were on. Anna Reeves
Jarvis also took up the cause of Mother's Day, sharing Mrs. Howe's vision of a
day of peace. Upon her death in 1905, Mrs. Jarvis' daughter, also named Anna,
made a promise to herself to continue her mother's work and to establish a day
to honor mothers. In 1907, in memory of her mother, the younger Anna
distributed white carnations to every mother in attendance at her
mother’s church in West Virginia.
The following year
was a significant one for the history of Mother's Day and for Anna Jarvis. Her
mother's church instituted an annual Sunday service honoring mothers. And,
although it was not successful, the first bill proposing a Mother's Day holiday
was presented in the U.S. Senate.
Anna Jarvis then gave up her job and
began working full-time to establish Mother's Day. She wrote to anyone she
thought had influence, including legislators, women's groups, clergy and
businessmen, to try and persuade them to push for a holiday for mothers. In
1909, Mother's Day began being observed by other countries, including Canada
and Mexico. By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution establishing
Mother's Day as a national holiday in the United States. Unlike Mrs. Howe's day
for mothers, which had links to public activism for peace, the government's
resolution emphasized the role of women in their families.
The tradition
of purchasing cards and flowers came along shortly after the holiday was
created. Distressed at the increasing commercialism of Mother's Day, Anna
Jarvis eventually ended up campaigning against the holiday. She died in poverty
in 1848.
Today, Mother's Day is celebrated around the world as sons and
daughters of all ages use gifts and cards to tell their moms how important they
are. And, although Anna Jarvis might disagree with the method, the message is
still one of honoring mothers.
David Beart is the owner of
http://www.professorshouse.com This site covers a wide
selection of topics including relationships, family, cooking and other
household issues. For additional articles that cover national holidays, please
visit
http://www.professorshouse.com/family/holidays/holidays.aspx
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