Mother's Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mother's Day | |
| Observed by | Many countries |
|---|---|
| Type | Historical |
| Date | Varies regionally |
| Related to | Father's Day |
Mother's Day is a day honoring mothers, celebrated on various days in many places around the world. It complements Father's Day, the celebration honoring fathers.
Contents |
[edit] 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, which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. This festival was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor and eventually in Rome itself from the Ides of March (15 March) to 18 March.
The ancient Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts on this day.
In addition to Mother's Day, International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries, most often on March 8.
[edit] Dates
Mother's Day is celebrated on different days throughout the world. Examining the trends in Google searches for the term "mother's day" shows two major blips, the smaller one on the fourth Sunday in Lent (it is also called ladies day and women's day), and the larger one on the second Sunday in May.[1]
Mother's Day in various regions:
Note: Countries that celebrate International Women's Day are marked with a dagger '†'.
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Second Sunday of February |
February 10 2008 |
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Shevat 30 |
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Fourth Sunday in Lent |
March 2 2008 |
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April 2 |
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First Sunday of May |
May 4 2008 |
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Second Sunday of May |
May 11 2008 |
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Last Sunday of May |
May 25 2008 |
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Second Sunday of June |
June 8 2008 |
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Last Sunday of June |
June 29 2008 |
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Second Monday of October |
October 13 2008 |
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Third Sunday of October |
October 19 2008 |
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Last Sunday of November |
November 30 2008 |
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16 December, Iranian calendar: 25 Azar (Mother And Child Foundation) |
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[edit] International history and traditions
In most countries, Mother's Day is a new concept copied from western civilization. In many African countries, the idea of one Mother's Day has its origins in copying the British concept, although there are many festivals and events celebrating mothers within the many diverse cultures on the African continent that have been there centuries before the colonials arrived. In Japan, Mother's Day is a heavily marketed concept.
[edit] China
In China, in recent years some people began to advocate for Mother's Day in memory of Meng Mu, the mother of Mèng Zǐ. It's still not an official festival except in very few cities.[citation needed]
[edit] Greece
Mother's Day in Greece corresponds to the Eastern Orthodox feast day of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. Since the Theotokos (The Mother of God) appears prominently in this feast as the one who brought Christ to the Temple at Jerusalem, this feast is associated with mothers. However, today many Greeks are beginning to observe Mother's Day as rendered by the West.[citation needed]
[edit] United Kingdom and Ireland
Mothering Sunday, also called "Mother's Day" in the United Kingdom and Ireland 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.[4] As a result of secularization, it is now principally used to celebrate and give thanks for mothers, although it is still recognised in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus Christ as well as the traditional concept 'Mother Church'.
Mothering Sunday can fall at earliest on March 1st (in years when Easter Day falls on March 22nd) and at latest on April 4th (when Easter Day falls on April 25th).
[edit] United States
The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In the United States, Mother's Day was inspired by the British day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. 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 Mother's 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.
When Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. In 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother’s church, St. Andrew’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia—one for each mother in the congregation. The first Mother's Day service was celebrated on 10 May 1908, in the same church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Anna chose Sunday to be Mother's Day because she intended the day to be commemorated and treated as a Holy Day. Later commercial and other exploitations of the use of Mother's Day infuriated Anna and she made her criticisms explicitly known throughout her time [5].
Originally the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church, the site of the original Mother's Day commemoration, where Anna handed out carnations, this building is now the International Mother's Day Shrine (a National Historic Landmark). From there, the custom caught on—spreading eventually to 46 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912, beginning with West Virginia. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, 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. occasions. 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.
For example, according to IBISWorld, a publisher of business research, Americans will spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts—like spa treatments—and another $68 million on greeting cards [6].
Mother's Day will generate about 7.8% of the US jewelry industry's annual revenue in 2008. Americans are expected to spend close to $3.51 billion in 2008 on dining out for Mother's Day, with brunch and dinner being the most popular dining out options [7].
In May 2008, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day, [8] then Congressman Todd Tiahrt asked for a re-vote, and most members of his party voted this time against it. The resolution passed successfully on both votations. [9] House Minority Leader John Boehner, asked about the matter, answered that "(they) just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day". [10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ mothers day [sic]. Google Trends. Google. Retrieved on 28 May 2006.
- ^ Principales efemérides. Mes Mayo. Unión de Periodistas de Cuba. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- ^ Calendario Cívico Escolar. Dirección Regional de Educación de Lima Metropolitana. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- ^ "Mothering Sunday", Religion & Ethics, bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
- ^ Canada.com article
- ^ Recession or not: Mom comes 1st (phillyBurbs.com) | Local Business
- ^ AV Press article
- ^ House Vote #274 (May 7, 2008) H. Res. 1113: Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day (Vote On Passage)
- ^ House Vote #275 (May 7, 2008) Table Motion to Reconsider: H RES 1113 Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother’s Day
- ^ Dana Milbank, "Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens", Washington Post, Friday, May 9, 2008; page A03, found at Washington Post article. Accessed May 14, 2008.
