The history of Mother's Day is traced
from the mother of the Greek Gods, Rhea, to the founder of Modern
Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis.
Mother's
Day, like Valentine's Day, has often been written off as something
invented by business companies to boost their sales in flowers, cards,
cakes and other gifts. Despite the commercialism attached to it,
following the American tradition, Mother's Day is celebrated on the
second Sunday in May.
Mother's Day in Ancient Greece
The
origins of Mother's Day can be traced back to ancient times, the
earliest celebration in Ancient Greece with the spring festival
dedicated to Rhea, the mother of the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon and
Hades. This was carried through to the Romans who celebrated a similar
festival to Cybele, the mother of the Roman gods.
Christians Honor Mothers
The
first major group to establish a tribute to honor their mothers were
Christians who dedicated the fourth Sunday of the holy period Lent to
Mary, the mother of Jesus. This led to the setting up of Mother's Day in
the 17th century, retaining the fourth Sunday of Lent, except this
time, honoring a spread to celebrate mothers in general and not just
figureheads.
Mother's Day Historical Beginnings in the U.S.
-
In 1858, Anna Jarvis (Senior), an Appalachian housemother, decided to
organize a day "Mother's Work Days" to rally mothers in her town to
improve the living conditions for all citizens.
- Some years later, in 1872, a Boston poet and suffragist Julia Ward Howe also
established a special day for mothers and for peace.
-
When Anna Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter, also named Anna, decided to
continue her mother's activism. A year after her mother's death a
memorial service was held where Jarvis handed out her late mother's
favorite flower, a white carnation.
- Jarvis's campaign
and lobbying paid off when five years later the US House of Congress
adopted a resolution declaring all government workers should wear a
white carnation on Mother's Day. By 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed off on a
bill that made Mother's Day a national holiday.
The Irony of Anna Jarvis as Mother's Day Founder
When
the greater public adopted the celebration they moved away from
Jarvis's idea of going to church. Instead, people started to give gifts
and cards, which immensely outraged Jarvis as she believed the sentiment
of the day was being spoiled.
In 1923, Jarvis filed a law suit to
stop a Mother's Day Festival. She was later arrested for disturbing the
peace at a convention while selling carnation for a war mother's group.
Despite her efforts, the trend has spread around the world.
As
for Anna Jarvis, founder of our modern Mother's Day, she died in 1948,
on her deathbed proclaiming that she regretted ever inventing Mother's
Day.
Mother's Day Celebrations Worldwide
The British still
celebrate this same holiday on the fourth Sunday of Lent, while most
countries worldwide take their maternal celebration dated from the
modern American version of the event.
In summary, regardless of
its dubious history, and no matter how one chooses to celebrate the
event, the underlying sentiment of Mother's Day remains as a special
holiday to honor all mothers, to show love and appreciation to beloved
mothers.
The important thing is to make a mother feel very
special by taking delight on Mother's Day to indulge mums/moms an
undivided attention and love - something daughters or sons most likely
rarely do in their busy life these days.
(This is a shorter version from a piece I originally published for Suite101.com now close. My resources come from personal notes through the years. / Tel)
(c) Tel Asiado. Written for InspiredPenWeb.com. All rights reserved.
Five years ago, I wrote an article "Mother's Day Origins and Traditions Traced."
This post serves as an insight from that earlier piece, for along with
honouring all mothers of the world on Mother's Day, I feel we ought to
celebrate its founder, Anna Jarvis.