Mother's Day
| Mother's Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Many countries |
| Type | Historical |
| Date | Varies regionally |
| Related to | Father's Day |
Mother's Day is a holiday honoring mothers, celebrated on various days in many places around the world. Mothers often receive gifts on this day.
History
Ancient origins
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 Greek gods, 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 ancient Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts on this day.
Mothering Sunday in Ireland & Britain
Mothering Sunday, commonly called "Mothers' Day" in the United Kingdom and Ireland, 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.[1] As a result of secularisation, it is now principally used to celebrate and give thanks for mothers, although it is still recognized in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus as well as the traditional concept 'Mother Church'.
Mother's Day in the United States
In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British Holiday 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.
Julia Ward Howe 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 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 in 1904, 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 some states beginning in 1912. 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 (with specific reference to The Great War, now known as World War I).
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. 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.
Mother's Days in various parts of the world
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 arrival. In most of East Asia, Mother's Day is a heavily marketed and commercialized concept copied straight from Mother's Day in the USA.
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.[2]
Note: The definition used in the following table allows "Womens day" to be treated the same as "Mothers Day".
Mother's Day in various languages
- (af): Moedersdag
- (al): Dita e Nënës (8 Marsi)
- (ar) : يوم الأمّ (Eid Al-Omm)
- (hy) : Մայրության օր (Mayrutyan or)
- (ber) : tameγra n tyemmat
- (bg) : Ден на майката
- (bs) : dan majki
- (ca) : Dia de la Mare
- (ch) : 母亲节 or 母親節 (mǔ qīn jié)
- (hr) : Majčin dan
- (cz) : Den Matek
- (da) : Mors dag
- (Dh):މަންމައިންގް ދުވަސް
- (nl) : Moederdag
- (de) : Muttertag
- (el) : Γιορτή της Μητέρας
- (es) : Día de la Madre
- (et) : Emadepäev
- (dar) : روز مادر (Ruz-e Madar)
- (fi) : Äitienpäivä
- (fo) : Mammudagur
- (fr) : (La) Fête des mères
- (he) : (he) יום האם (Yom ha-em) or יום המשפחה (Yom ha-mishpakha, Family Day)
- (hi) : (hi) Matru din
- (hr) : Majčin dan
- (hu) : anyák napja
- (ga) : Lá na Mháithair
- (is) : Mæðradagur
- (id) : Hari Ibu
- (ie):lá an mháthair
- (it) : (La) Festa della mamma
- (ja) : 母の日 (Haha no Hi)
- (ka) : ತಾಯಂದಿರ ದಿನ (thayandira dina)
- (kor) : 어머님 날 (Uh-muh-neem nal)
- (ku) : Roje dayeka
- (lv) : Mātes diena
- (lt) : Motinos diena
- (ms) : Hari Ibu
- (ma) : Ammamar Dinam
- (mt) : Jum l-Omm
- (mu): Bonne fête mama
- (mgl) : Eejiin bayar / Eh ursiin udur
- (me) : Dan majki / Дан мајки
- (no) : Morsdag
- (per) : روز مادر (Rouz-e Maadar)
- (pl) : Dzień Matki
- (pt) : (O) Dia da Mãe - Brazil: Dia das Mães
- (ro) : Ziua femeii ("Woman's Day")
- (ru) : День Матери
- (sk) : Deň matiek
- (sl) : Materinski dan
- (sv) : Mors dag
- (sh) : Liepstacoq Bua
- (ta) : Araw ng mga Ina/Nanay
- (tam) : Annaiyar Dhinam
- (th) : วันแม่ [wɑn mɛː]
- (tel) : Thalli kosamu
- (tr) : Anneler Günü
- (ua) : Свято Матері
- (vi) : Ngày của Mẹ (officially Ngay quoc te Nu - International Womens Day )
- (cy) : Sul y Mamau
See also
References
- ^ "Mothering Sunday". Religion & Ethics. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-05-28.
- ^ "mothers day". Google Trends. Google. Retrieved May 28.
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External inks
- Mother's Day History
- Mother's Day Central - Historical information, and ways families celebrate Mother's Day.
- Rediscover Mother's Day - How to revive the holiday's roots in the U.S. as Mother's Day for Peace.