Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday is a day dedicated to honoring motherhood. A day to appreciate mothers, their efforts, sacrifices and unconditional love. What and where would we be without our mothers?
This day is typically observed on different dates across different countries but generally occurs in March and May
Celebrations of motherhood date back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals honouring mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.
In UK and other European countries, a custom developed of allowing people/children who had moved away from their homes to return to their homes, or 'mother' churches for a special service on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
This became Mothering Sunday and was an opportunity for families to reunite as during the Middle Ages, it was common for children as young as 10 years old to leave home to work and earn a living.
In contrast, in America, the origins of Mothering Sunday date back to the 19th Century. Anna Jarvis was the daughter of Ann, a woman who had nursed soldiers during the American Civil War. After she died, Anna set out to pay a tribute to her mother and create a day which would honour mothers and their sacrifices. She began the movement in West Virginia which hosted the first mother's day celebration three years later. President Wilson later signed a bill recognizing Jarvis' idea as a national holiday to be celebrated every second Sunday in May.
While Jarvis is credited for founding this national holiday, another name linked to this day includes Julia Ward Howe, who aimed to promote a "Mother's Peace Day" long before Jarvis. Howe's idea was to have a day that spread unity across the globe in the wake of so much trauma following the wars.
Over the years, Mother's day has become a holiday celebrated widely and the modern concept includes giving flowers, cards and gifts to mothers. According to market data in the US, Mother's day generates a lot of commercial wealth for the country - approx. $25 billion. Another interesting fact is that the number of phone calls made on Mothering Sunday increases by approx. 37%.
Although Jarvis worked hard to create a day dedicated to motherhood, seeing companies capitalize from this concept/day, Jarvis spent later years of her life trying to reverse the holiday. She did not appreciate the idea of printed cards etc. and believed that the true meaning and purpose of the day had been abused and lost overtime.
The CC team agree with Jarvis to some extent as we genuinely believe every day should be mother's day and we should honour our mothers beyond gifts and flowers by taking care of them and loving them everyday.
Have a lovely mother's day and be sure to spread a little love and kindness to those who have lost their mothers.
Credits:
x.titli.x
comment:
p_commentcount