The origins of the modern day celebration of Mother’s Day
can be traced back to ancient Egyptian roots. Different countries celebrate
Mother’s Day on different days of the year because the day has a number of
different origins. Take a look…
One of the earliest historical records of a society
celebrating a Mother deity can be found in ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians held an annual festival to
honor the goddess Isis. The festival of
Isis was, also, celebrated in ancient
Rome, but the Roman celebration was more precisely found in the recognition of
the goddess Cybele or Magna Mater (Great Mother). In
Rome and Asia Minor, Cybele was the major Mother deity most similar to Rhea,
the Greek mother of the Gods. A later celebration
of a holiday to honor motherhood came from Europe and was celebrated on the fourth
Sunday of Lent. In the 1600’s a clerical
decree in England broadened the celebration referring to the day as Mother
Day - a compassionate holiday toward the
working class wherein workers were allowed to travel back to their hometowns to
visit their families. Ireland celebrated
Mothers Day as Mothering Sunday held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In America, Julia
Ward Howe (author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic) conceptualized the
American celebration of Mother’s Day by championing the Mother’s Day
Proclamation of 1870. At that time, the official date of Mother’s Day was set
for June 2nd. In 1907, Ana
Jarvis began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day to celebrate the
second anniversary of her mother’s death on the 2nd Sunday of
May. Her campaign was established in
Philadelphia, but by 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. In
1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming
Mother’s Day as a national holiday to be held each year on the 2nd
Sunday of May.
Based on the origins and history of Mothers Day celebrations
across the globe, you really don’t have to be a ‘birth’ mother to be recognized,
solely, on the 2nd Sunday of May. Webster
defines the term mother as “1) a female parent, 2) a female who holds a
position of authority or responsibility similar to that of a mother, 3) a
creative source, 4) an old or elderly woman, 5) qualities attributed to a
mother, such as capacity to love, 6) to give birth to, 7) to watch over,
nourish, and protect.”
So, if you are a mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandfather/mother, great grandfather/mother, godmother/father, cousin, niece, nephew, foster care mother/father, adoptive mother/father, big brother/sister, friend or acquaintance who is a creative source, who watches over, nourishes, protects, and who
shares their capacity to love, the spin detectives
wish you ….
Love
Peace
Joy
Hope
Happy Mother's Day 365!
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment