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The Origin of Mother's Day
Posted: Monday, May 3rd, 2010
On the second Sunday in May, we honour our mothers with gifts and flowers, but do we know the origin of the holiday? Most sources give the credit for Mother’s Day to Anna M. Jarvis. It’s thought by many that the first Mother’s Day celebration took place in 1907, in a tiny church in West Virginia, when Anna Jarvis arranged a special service to pay tribute to her mother. Seven years later, President Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday in the U.S.. But long before Anna Jarvis’s time, recognition of a Mother's Day was first suggested after the American Civil War by social activist Julia Ward Howe. Howe was horrified by the carnage of the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War and so, in 1870, she began a one-woman peace crusade and made an impassioned "appeal to womanhood" to rise against war. She composed a powerful plea (considered by some to be the original Mothers' Day proclamation), translated it into several languages and distributed it widely. In 1872, she went to London to promote an international Woman's Peace Congress. She began promoting the idea of a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be celebrated on June 2, honouring peace, motherhood and womanhood. Earlier yet, in the 1600's, Christians in England celebrated a day to honour Mary, the mother of Christ. By a religious order the holiday was later expanded in its scope to include all mothers, and named “Mothering Sunday.” Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent, Mothering Sunday honoured the mothers of England. During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. Most servants worked at the houses of their employers, far from their own homes, but on Mothering Sunday they were given the day off and encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch. And long before the early Christians honoured Mary, the ancient Greeks celebrated their annual spring festival in honour of Rhea, the mother of many Gods and Goddesses in Greek mythology. Ancient Romans celebrated their own spring festival, called Hilaria, in honour of Cybele, a mother goddess, some 250 years before Christ was born. So enjoy this holiday, Mums and Grandmas, knowing there’s a strong foundation of celebrating our mothers, possibly reaching back further than we know.
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In a world with so much angst for things christian, I am pleased you saw fit to publish these rare insights to humanity.
Thank you,
Keith
Posted by: Keith Watson | May 6th, 2010
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