History and Origin of Mother's Day

Mother's Day History

It is claimed by the Historians that the holiday of Mother's Day has emerged from the ancient festivals dedicated to mother goddess.In the ancient Greek empire, Rhea, the wife of Cronus, and mother of Gods and Goddesses, was worshipped.

In Rome,Cybele, a mother Goddesses, was worshipped, as early as 250 BC. It was known as Hilaria, and it lasted for three days, called the Ides of March, that is from March 15 to March 18.However, neither of them meant for the honoring of our immediate mothers, as is done in our Mother's Day.

"Mothering Sunday" is the more closely aligned to our Mother's Day,England observed "Mothering Sunday", or the "Mid-Lent-Sunday, on the fourth Sunday in Lent..During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. 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.

With time, 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 and eventually the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration .

In the United States, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) is credited with bringing in the celebration of Mother's day.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.

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.