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.
In the USA
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.
First USA 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.
More Celbrations
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.
Officially Proclaimed
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.
Celebrate Mother's Day
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 .
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.
Happy Mother's Day from Families Online Magazine. We hope this is your happiest Mother's Day Ever!