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The
Story of Mother's Day
The
earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be
traced back to the spring celebrations of
ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother
of the Gods. During the 1600's, England
celebrated a day called "Mothering
Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th
Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up
to Easter*), "Mothering
Sunday" honored the mothers of
England. *(For more information on
Lent/Easter check out - Easter
on the Net)
During
this time many of the England's poor worked
as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs
were located far from their homes, the
servants would live at the houses of their
employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants
would have the day off and were encouraged
to return home and spend the day with their
mothers. A special cake, called the mothering
cake, was often brought along to
provide a festive touch.
As
Christianity spread throughout Europe the
celebration changed to honor the "Mother
Church" - the spiritual power that
gave them life and protected them from harm.
Over time the church festival blended with
the Mothering Sunday celebration . People
began honoring their mothers as well as the
church.
In
the United States Mother's Day was first
suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe
(who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of
the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace.
Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day
meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.
In
1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia,
began a campaign to establish a national
Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her
mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to
celebrate Mother's Day on the second
anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd
Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day
was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
Ms.
Jarvis and her supporters began to write to
ministers, businessman, and politicians in
their quest to establish a national Mother's
Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's
Day was celebrated in almost every state.
President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
official announcement proclaiming Mother's
Day as a national holiday that was to be
held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
While
many countries of the world celebrate their
own Mother's Day at different times
throughout the year, there are some
countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy,
Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also
celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday
of May.
Source:
http://www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm
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