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| This is my gorgeous Mother, Ursula |
I was wondering when the idea started to celebrate Mother's day. Actually my thought was "Why should there be an oficial Mother's Day, rather than celebrating your Mom every single day?"
So here is what I found:
Celebrating motherhood is a historical tradition dating back almost as far as mothers themselves. A number of ancient cultures paid tribute to mothers as goddesses, including the ancient Greeks, who celebrated Rhea, the mother of all gods. The ancient Romans also honored their mother goddess, Cybele, in a notoriously rowdy springtime celebration and the Celtic Pagans marked the coming of spring with a fertility celebration linking their goddess Brigid together with the first milk of the ewes.
During the 17th century, those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season. This holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children, separated when working class families had to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. On Mothering Sunday, the child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit with their parents. The holiday's popularity faded in the 19th century, only to be reincarnated during World War II when U.S. servicemen reintroduced the sentimental (and commercial) aspects of the celebration American counterpart.
In the United States, Mother's Day experienced a series of false starts before eventually transitioning into the "Hallmark" holiday that we celebrate today. In 1858, Anna Reeves Jarvis was the first woman to hold an official celebration of mothers, when in her home state of West Virginia, she instituted Mothers' Work Day to raise awareness about local sanitation issues. During the Civil War, she expanded the scope of Mothers' Work Day to include sanitary conditions on both sides of the battlefield.
Meanwhile Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," attempted to institute a national celebration of mothers that honored women's inclinations toward peace (rather than cleanliness). In 1872, she initiated and promoted a Mother's Day for Peace, to be held on June 2, which was celebrated the following year by women in 18 cities across America. The holiday continued to be honored by Bostonian women for another decade, but eventually phased out after Howe stopped underwriting the cost of the celebrations.
Then in 1905, Anna Reeves Jarvis passed away and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took up her mother's torch. Anna swore on her mother's gravesite that she would realize her lifelong dream of creating a national day to honor mothers. In 1907, Anna launched her campaign by handing out white carnations to congregants at her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, her mother's church acquiesced to Anna's request to hold a special Sunday service in honor of mothers - a tradition that spread the very next year to churches in 46 states. In 1909, Anna left her job and dedicated herself to a full-time letter-writing campaign, imploring politicians, clergymen and civic leaders to institute a national day for mothers.
In 1912, Jarvis' efforts met with success: Her home state of West Virginia adopted an official Mother's Day; two years later, the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution, signed by President Wilson, establishing a national Mother's Day emphasizing the role of women in their families - and not, like Julia Ward Howe's campaign, in the public arena. Ever since, Mother's Day has been celebrated by Americans on the second Sunday in May.
Perhaps the country's greatest proponent of motherhood, Anna Jarvis ironically never had children of her own. Yet that didn't stop her from making the celebration of Mother's Day her lifelong mission. In fact, as the holiday took on a life of its own, Jarvis expressed frequent dismay over its growing commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit," she is quoted as saying.
Mother's Day is celebrated almost all over the world. See here when:
While Mother's Day in the US is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May, and the UK's Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent, worldwide many countries also celebrate Mother's Day (also known as Ladies Day, Women's Day, Parent's Day) throughout the year.
| Date Celebrated | Countries Celebrating |
| Second Sunday in February | Norway |
| Shevat 30 (falls anywhere between January 30 and March 1) | Israel |
| March 3 | Georgia |
| March 8 | Afghanistan, Albania*, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Laos, Macedonia*, Montenegro, Moldova*, Montenegro, Romania*, Russia*, Serbia, Ukraine. *In Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Guyana, Italy, Macedonia, Mongolia, and Russia the day is observed as International Women's Day (not specifically Mothers' Day). |
| Fourth Sunday in Lent (Mothering Sunday) | Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom |
| March 21 (Vernal Equinox) | Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (most Arab countries) |
| March 25 | Slovenia |
| April 7 | Armenia |
| Baisakh (Mata Tirtha Aunsi - April/May) | Nepal |
| First Sunday in May | Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain |
| May 8 | Albania (Parents' Day), South Korea (Parents' Day) |
| May 10 | El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico |
| Second Sunday in May | Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe |
| May 15 | Paraguay |
| May 26 | Poland |
| May 27 | Bolivia |
| Last Sunday in May | Algeria, Dominican Republic, France*, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia *(except if the day falls on Pentecost Sunday, in which case Mother's Day will be celebrated on the first Sunday of June) |
| May 30 | Nicaragua |
| June 1 | Mongolia (The Mothers and Children's Day. Mongolia is the only country that celebrates Mother's Day twice a year.) |
| 2nd Sunday of June | Luxembourg |
| Last Sunday of June | Kenya |
| August 12 | Thailand (the birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara) |
| August 15 (Assumption Day) | Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica |
| Second Monday in October | Malawi |
| October 14 | Belarus |
| Third Sunday in October | Argentina (Día de la Madre) |
| Last Sunday of November | Russia |
| December 8 | Panama |
| December 22 | Indonesia |
(If we are missing anything please make note in the comments below)
Source: Wikipedia - Mother's Day
So, no matter what, when or why it started, just celebrate your mom. She's done a lot for you and it doesn't cost you a dime to care!
Love you all,
Best
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