Mother's Day
| Mother's Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Most countries |
| Type | Historical |
| Date | Varies regionally |
| Related to | Father's Day |
Mother's Day is a holiday honouring mothers, celebrated (on various days) in many places around the world. Mothers often receive gifts on this day.
Mother's Day is a strange time of year for mail in many countries. In 1973, mail delivery through the U.S. Postal Service was delayed for eight days because of the amount of mail.[citation needed]
History
Different countries celebrate Mother's Day on various days of the year because the day has a number of different origins. One school of thought claims this day emerged from a custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship — which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus — was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor and eventually in Rome itself from the Ides of March (March 15) to March 18. The romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts on this day.
In the United States, Mother's Day was originally conceived by social activist Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War with a call to unite women against war. She wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation. In Ireland and the British Isles, the day now simply celebrates motherhood and thanking mothers. 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.[1]
In most countries, Mother's Day is a new concept copied from western civilization. In many African countries, Mother's Day has its origins in copying the British concept. In most of East Asia, Mother's Day is a heavily marketed and commercialized concept copied straight from Mother's Day in the USA.
US history
Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, as a call for peace and disarmament. An excerpt follows:
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary to plant tomatoes outdoors after mother's day (and not before.)
When Jarvis died, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908, in the church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International Mother's Day Shrine. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by somes states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day. Nine years after the first official Mother's Day holiday, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. holidays.
British history - Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday, commonly called "Mother's Day" in the United Kingdom, has no direct connection to the American practice. It falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday). It is believed to have originated from the 16th Century Christian practice of visiting one's mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. Most historians believe that young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families.[2] Its principle purpose now is celebration and thanks for mothers.
Mother's Days in various parts of the world
Mother's Day is celebrated on different days throughout the world. Examining the trends in Google searches for the term "mothers day" shows two major blips, the smaller one on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and the larger one on the second Sunday in May.[3]
Mother's Day in various languages
- (ar) : يوم الأمّ (Yaum al-Umm)
- (arm) : Մայրության օր (Mayrutyan or)
- (ber) : tameγra n tyemmat
- (bg) : Ден на Майката
- (bs) : dan majki
- (ch) : 母亲节 or 母親節 (mǔ qīn jié)
- (hr) : Majčin dan
- (cz) : Den Matek
- (da) : Mors dag
- (nl) : Moederdag
- (de) : (Der) Muttertag
- (el) : Γιορτή της Μητέρας
- (et) : Emadepäev
- (fa) : روز مادر (Ruz-e Madar)
- (fi) : Äitienpäivä
- (fr) : (La) Fête des mères
- (he) : (he) יום האם (Yom ha-em)
- (hr) : Majčin dan
- (hu) : (Az) Anyák napja
- (ga) : Lá na Mháithair
- (is) : Mæðradagur
- (id) : Hari Ibu
- (it) : (La) Festa della mamma
- (ja) : 母の日 (Haha no Hi)
- (kor) : 어버이날 (Oboi Nal)
- (lt) : Motinos diena
- (bm) : Hari Ibu
- (mt) : Jum l-Omm
- (no) : Morsdag
- (per) : روز مادر (Rouz-e Maadar)
- (pl) : Dzień Matki
- (pt) : (O) Dia da Mãe
- (ro) : Ziua mamei
- (ru) : День Матери
- (es) : Día de la Madre
- (sk) : Deň matiek
- (sl) : Materinski dan
- (sv) : Mors dag
- (sh) : Liepstacoq Bua
- (ta) : Araw ng mga Ina/Nanay
- (tam) : Annaiyar Dhinam
- (th) : วันแม่
- (tr) : Anneler günü
- (cy) : Sul y Mamau
- (ma) : Ammamar Dinam
- (ka) : Ammandira Dina
See also
- Father's Day
- Mothering Sunday
- May crowning
- International Women's Day
- Hallmark Holiday
- Mother's Day (Futurama)
References
- ^ Patricia Talorico (April 26 2006). "Honor thy reservation". The News Journal. pp. E1, E6.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Mothering Sunday". Religion & Ethics. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
- ^ "mothers day". Google Trends. Google. Retrieved May 28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help)