History of Mother's Day
Mother’s Day is celebrated in the second Sunday of May. This day is known to all and it is largely celebrated in some countries. People mainly celebrate this day to show special respect to their mother and say thanks for everything. There is a history behind this Mother’s Day.
In the ancient period, people used to show respect to their mother of all gods in this day. For example, the ancient Greeks used to show respect to Rhea who is the mother of all gods in their religion. The ancient Romans honored their mother goddess Cybele. She was the great mother for them. Romans believed that Cybele is the mother of a fertile earth. The ancient Egyptians held ceremonies and celebrations each year to honor the goddess Isis. They believed that she was the mother of Horus who was the mythological ruler of Egypt. For this reason, Isis became the mother of all ‘pharaohs’. So, the celebration of Isis became the celebration of mothers. Historians say that Mother’s Day started in this way.
According to the London times, the origin of British Mother’s Day lies in Mothering Sunday. The word “Mothering” was used to symbolize the churches. The London times wrote- “Mothering Sunday was the day, when local churches honored their mother church and also an excuse for a little spree during the long period of abstinence running up to Easter”.
Mother’s Day got a different look during the 17th century. At that time, this day became the holiday of young people who used to work in domestic service. They used to return home in this day with some small gifts for their mother. That was the only day when every young people in domestic service can return home.
Besides the official Mother’s Day, United States added some other days to honor their mother. It is written in the World Book Advanced that Julia Ward Howe suggested June 2nd being a day of peace, honoring mother in the United States. She was not only suggested the day but also held an annual Mother’s Day meeting in Boston for several years to celebrate the day. The World Book Advanced was published in 1872.
There are some other persons like Julia Ward Howe who started to celebrate the Mother’s Day in different years. Kentucky school teacher named Mary Towles Sasseen started to celebrate the Mother’s Day in 1887. Frank E. Hering of South Bend, Ind. created a campaign to observe Mother’s Day in 1904.
The official Mother’s Day, as recognized by an act of Congress, was the brainchild of Anna Jarvis. She was a school teacher who lived in Grafton, W.Va., with her mother also named Anna Jarvis was devastated by her mother’s death in 1905 on May 10. She wanted to make it a special holiday. She took some steps to do it. It is written in the American Enterprise Magazine that she decided that on the anniversary of her mother’s death all the Americans should show special respect to their mother. They should honor the women who gave them birth.
A freshman senator from Nebraska put Miss Jarvis’s proposal to the Senate and it met with wide-ranging opposition. One senator moved to amend the entire law with just one sentence from the 10 Commandments: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Other senators were outraged at the idea of needing a day established to celebrate their feelings for their mothers
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A freshman senator from Nebraska put Miss Jarvis’s proposal to the Senate and it met with wide-ranging opposition. One senator moved to amend the entire law with just one sentence from the 10 Commandments: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” Other senators were outraged at the idea of needing a day established to celebrate their feelings for their mothers
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The Senate by an overwhelming margin of 33-14 killed the measure by sending it back to committee. However, as American Enterprise magazine related, Anna Jarvis was not deterred. She called on the World’s Sunday School Association. By 1914, the idea of Mother’s Day became a wonderful cause of members of Congress. It was declared as a holiday, set for the second Sunday of May. After sometimes it became the part of our national culture. Anna Jarvis’s plan was successful in this day. The first Mother’s Day was held in 1908. Jarvis called on people to observe the day by wearing a single white carnation on their lapel.
Anna Jarvis’s plan was successful. She was able to make the day special when her mother died. Business and trade took advantage of this day. It is the habit of the businesses to take advantages of special occasions. So, they did it in the case of Mother’s Day also. They started to sell special greeting cards for the mothers and also some special gifts and flowers. People also started to buy these things on the occasion of Mother’s Day. They started to celebrate this day in a festive mood. Mother’s Day was a holy day for Jarvis but people started to celebrate the day in a festive manner and spend money for their mothers. Jarvis’s thinking was not matched with the situation and for this reason; she became a harsh critic of the way Mother’s Day was being celebrated. She used to pray for her mother in this day but other people was not like this. She called greetings cards “a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write.” She also did not like the idea of buying flowers on Mother’s Day. She said that the trade and business spoiled the true color of the holy Mother’s Day.
The Mother’s Day that is now celebrated is still a time to spend money. But it cannot be said that the spirit of Mother’s Day has corrupted. Most of the people buy cards because they beautiful, not because they are too lazy to write. They show respect to their mothers by giving the beautiful gifts. Many children make their own cards to give it to the mothers. The second Sunday of May is still the holy Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day is celebrated from the ancient period. At that time, people used to show respect to the mother of all gods (Greeks, Romans and Egyptians). As the days passed, people started to show respect to their own mothers and it is continued till now. The way of celebration is different from the past but the meaning and spirit of this day is not different.
