Mapping out the origins of Mother

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. It’s a time to celebrate our moms and it’s the one day of the year that mom MUST have the royal treatment.
    Breakfast in bed, flowers, homemade cards, or that highly expensive gift, whatever way you choose to reward your mother for all her hard work is up to you.
But, have you ever wondered how Mother’s Day began? Who thought of the idea and why? I know the why is easy to answer because we all know how hard moms work. They’ve got the toughest job in the world. From infancy to adulthood, mothers hold their titles as though they were royalty. Remember the famous saying: “Mom knows all.” Well that’s her way of feeling special. Her role helps create tomorrow’s future.
But the question still lingers in my mind. How long have we celebrated this much-deserved holiday, and how did it begin. How long has this maternal celebration existed?
Well, after spending a considerable amount of time surfing the Internet for answers, I found several different ideas that actually tie together. Just where do I start?
Picture it, Greece, 250 B.C., before Cleopatra and before Ceaser. Mothers were being honored, but on a different scale. Ancient Greek festivals celebrated a mother goddess. Rhea, the wife of Cronus, and mother to all gods and goddesses, was worshipped every spring. Romans celebrated Cybele, another mother goddess, in a festival known as Hilaria. Also known as the Ides of March, the three-day celebration, which was dedicated to Cybele’s motherhood.
Hundreds of years of history center on the celebration of the mothers of the gods, and that practice was spread out over Europe during the rule of the Roman Empire. Their presence in early European civilization was what brought the millennium-old custom to the doors of modern day people.
But, the history of Mother’s Day doesn’t end there. During the 1600s, “Mothering Sunday” or “Mid-Lent Sunday,” became the English version of the Greek faith. Its practices are very much like modern-day traditions.
From there, the “mother church” of England adopted the Roman practices, but instead of it being in honor of Greek goddesses, it was used to recognized the achievements and sacrifices of Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus.
From Greek mythology to Christianity, the meaning of Mother’s Day had not changed. The custom became known as a time to return home to honor your mother with small gifts and such. Large dinners were held and whole families gathered to mark the occasion. Everything was done to make mom’s special day, a day to remember.
During the 19th century, Mothering Sunday, the second Sunday of May, became more widespread, with families from all over the United Kingdom taking part. Its popularity by practitioners would soon make its way across the North Atlantic and into the home of England’s descendents.
But how did Mother’s Day make it to North America. Some say it began with it becoming a national holiday enacted by one president. That is partly true. But that’s not how it started.
A woman named Julia Ward Howe initiated the first suggestion for Mother’s Day. Howe believed it should be on June 2, as a day to observe peace. Howe, born in 1819 to a prominent New York family, was involved in the women’s movement, in which she became the first president of the New England Woman Sufferage Association.
But Howe’s idea was overturned, and the ideal day still remained in limbo. Others shared Howe’s dream of bringing recognition to women (mothers), and the next person to do that would be Frank Hering of Indiana. He began a campaign in 1904. Shortly after that, Anna Jarvis started a nationwide campaign. She chose the second Sunday in May, and she also started the tradition of wearing carnations.
Jarvis is known as the brainchild behind the official beginning of Mother’s Day in North America. Her spirit to honor her own mother was the driving force behind her quest. And on May 10, 1908, her mother was honored during the first service at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton,West Virginia.
Her efforts caused the governor of West Virginia to proclaim the first Mother’s Day in 1910.
Not long after that, numerous other states followed suit. Its worldwide movement sparked a celebration in honor of our mother’s unconditional love. Countries such as Canada, China and Africa adopted Jarvis’ tradition.
A little more history about North American Mother’s Day celebrations: in 1934, the Postmaster General, James A. Farley, announced a stamp to commemorate Mother’s Day. What an incredible way to thank a person who has served as a most influential role-model of children’s lives, by putting them on millions of pieces of mail.
Mothers received the ultimate honor when, on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution in Congress, recommending that the federal government observe Mother’s day. The next year, the president was authorized to proclaim an annual holiday.
For more than 90 years, we have been faithfully taking pride in our mothers. Who knew that Mother’s Day was filled with such a cultural background?
So, if your mother feels more special for being honored as a Greek goddess, then by all means, do that. Every mother deserves to feel uniquely appreciated.