The History of Mother’s Day
Different countries celebrate Mother’s Day on different days, because this day has different roots of origin. To believe certain sources this day comes from a custom of mother worship in ancient Greece.
The ancient Romans also had a holiday, called Matronalia, and during the time of this day mothers received presents. Besides the Mother’s Day, in many countries International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th.
The author of modern Mother’s Day holiday is known to be Anna Jarvis. In 1912 she trademarked phrases “second Sunday in May” and “Mother’s day”. She has also created the Mother’s Day International Association.
Anna Jarvis created this day to honor the mother, not mothers in general. Which means that, the day is dedicated for the mother of each person, and each person has to honor his own mother.
The day was not recognized as national holiday immediately. Anna Jarvis first held a memorial for her late mother in 1907. It was a private ceremony. Later she ran campaigns to make this day popular.
Mother’s Day became popular in 1910 when clothing merchant John Wanamaker financed the campaigns. The holiday spread as a day for mother appreciation. It was accepted as national holiday by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 14, 2009.
To this day, after almost 100 years, Mother’s Day is one of the best known and widely celebrated holidays. We honor our mothers during the time of this day and give them presents.
All around the world people celebrate Mother’s Day, and even though the dates differ, the meaning is the same. We remember our mothers and show them our love and how much they mean to us.
As the time runs down, we can start thinking about what we will do during the time of this day, how we will show how much we care to our mothers, what gift we will give her.