the occasion of Mother’s day. But, if we are free to present her with her favorite gifts throughout the year, then why is the day special? Let’s try to delve into the fact behind all the celebrations in the name of mother. Theydeserveit will help in our journey to find out the roots of the celebrations of Mother’s day.
Thorough research in the area revealed the origin of the festivities related to Mother’s Day. Historians say that it has its roots in ancient festivals dedicated to mother goddess. In ancient Greece, people used to worship Rhea, the wife of Cronus and the mother of all the Gods and Goddesses. In ancient Rome also, this trend of worshipping Mother Goddess was there. It has been noted that around two hundred and fifty years before Christ, a mother goddess called Cybele was worshipped in Rome. This festival of Hilaria (as it was called by the ancient Greek) lasted for three days - from 15th of March to 18th of March. This period was usually called the Ides of March.
These myths have apparently nothing to do with the modern day celebration of the occasion. The celebration today has a completely different purpose of honoring our immediate mothers. By no means can it be called worship. The celebration today has a close resemblance to the “Mothering Sunday” celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading to Easter) in England since the 1600 AD.
At that time the poor workers in England had to go far from home to do slavery in order to earn their livings. On Mothering Sundays, they were allowed to take a day leave and spend the day with their mothers. The cake called the Mothering Cake was the only material their children could afford. What was bonus for the mothers was the unmatched joy for the day. Since then, the day is being observed as the Mothering day.
As Christianity spread in Europe, people started worshipping the “Mother Church” which, according to them, gave them life and protected them from harm. Somehow the church festival merged with the Mothering Sunday and started being celebrated together.
In the United States this celebration was suggested by Julia Ward Howe. She wrote the words in a battle hymn. She herself organized a number of Mother’s day meetings in Boston. All these things started in the year 1872, in USA.
In 1907 Ana Jarvis from Philadelphia began a campaign through which she insisted on observing the day on the second Sunday of May. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the celebration official by an announcement that from then onwards “Mother’s Day” would be regarded as a national holiday and would be celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Today Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries on different dates. But in some of the countries like, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Belgium, Mothers Day is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Theydeserveit presents you a detailed history to trace the origins of Mother’s Day.
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