Honoring Mothers |
So who came up with the idea of honoring mothers nation-wide on the second Sunday in May？
EARLY CELEBRATIONS Some historians claim that the predecessor of the
Mother‘s Day holiday was the ancient spring festival dedicated to
mother goddesses. In the ancient Greek empire the spring festival
honored Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the gods and goddesses. In
Rome the most significant Mother‘s Day-like festival was dedicated to
the worship of Cybele, another mother goddess. Ceremonies in her honor
began some 250 years before Christ was born. This Roman religious
celebration, known as Hilaria, lasted for three days - from March 15 to
18！
ENGLAND‘S MOTHERING SUNDAY More like the modern
celebration of Mother‘s Day is England‘s "Mothering Sunday", also
called Mid-Lent Sunday, observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent. Some say
the ceremonies in honor of Cybele were adopted by the early church to
venerate the Mother of Christ, Mary. Others believe the Mother Church
was substituted for mother goddess and custom began to dictate that a
person visit the church of his/her baptism on this day. People attended
the mother church of their parish, laden with offerings.
Also
in England in the 1600‘s, young men and women who were apprentices or
servants returned home on Mothering Sunday, bringing to their mothers
small gifts like trinkets or a "mothering cake". Sometimes furmety was
served - wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced.
In northern England and in Scotland, the preferred refreshments were
carlings - pancakes made of steeped pease fried in butter, with pepper
and salt. In fact, in some locations this day was called Carling Sunday.
Another kind of mothering cake was the simnel cake, a very rich fruit
cake. The Lenten fast dictated that the simnel cake had to keep until
Easter. It was boiled in water, then baked, and was often finished with
an almond icing. Sometimes the crust was of flour and water, colored
with saffron.
INTEREST STARTS IN THE UNITED STATES Anna M.
Jarvis （1864-1948） is credited with originating our Mother‘s Day
holiday. She never married and was extremely attached to her mother,
Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis. Mrs. Jarvis was a minister‘s daughter who for
20 years taught Sunday School in the Andrews Methodist Church of
Grafton, West Virginia. Miss Jarvis graduated from the Female Seminary
in Wheeling, West Virginia, and taught in Grafton before moving to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the rest of her family.
Anna
Reese Jarvis died in Philadelphia in May of 1905. Still unmarried and
left alone with her blind sister Elsinore, Anna missed her mother
greatly. Two years after her mother‘s death （1907） Anna Jarvis and her
friends began a letter-writing campaign to gain the support of
influential ministers, businessmen and congressmen in declaring a
national Mother‘s Day holiday. She felt children often neglected to
appreciate their mother enough while the mother was still alive. She
hoped Mother‘s Day would increase respect for parents and strengthen
family bonds.
THE FIRST MOTHER‘S DAY The first Mother‘s Day
observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, held
at Anna Jarvis‘s request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908.
Carnations, her
mother‘s favorite flowers, were supplied at that first service by Miss
Jarvis. White carnations were chosen because they represented the
sweetness, purity and endurance of mother love. Red carnations, in
time, became the symbol of a living mother. White ones now signify that
one‘s mother has died.
OTHER MOTHER‘S DAY OBSERVANCES The
first Mother‘s Day proclamation was issued by the governor of West
Virginia in 1910. Oklahoma celebrated Mother‘s Day that year as well.
By 1911 every state had its own observances. By then other areas
celebrating Mother‘s Day included Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, South
America and Africa. The Mother‘s Day International Association was
incorporated on December 12, 1912, with the purpose of furthering
meaningful observations of Mother‘s Day.
OFFICIAL PROCLAMATION
The House of Representatives in May, 1913, unanimously adopted a
resolution requesting the President, his Cabinet, members of Congress,
and all officials of the federal government to wear a white carnation
on Mother‘s Day. Congress passed another Joint Resolution May 8, 1914,
designating the second Sunday in May as Mother‘s Day. The U.S. flag is
to be displayed on government buildings and at people‘s homes "as a
public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our
country." President Woodrow Wilson issued the first proclamation making
Mother‘s Day an official national holiday.
SO NOW WHAT？
If your mother is still alive, take care to shower her with special
attention this Mother‘s Day. Visit her. Phone her. Send her a card.
Give her flowers. Get her gourmet chocolates. Buy her something you
know she‘s been wanting. But don‘t wait until after her funeral to let
her know how much you‘ve appreciated her！ Wear your red （or
otherwise-colored） carnation proudly. |
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