Mother’s day Special
Motherhood is challenging so celebrating your mother is a way to show love, appreciation and recognition for her irreplaceable role in a family and Mother’s Day is another excuse to celebrate and strengthen this bond, foster emotional well-being and promote a culture of gratitude and respect for mothers and motherhood.
Mother’s Day and other forms of celebration provide an opportunity to express heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the love, sacrifices and efforts that mothers contribute to their families and it is a way to acknowledge and Honour the role they play in nurturing and raising children where it allows for moments of connection, reflection and quality time spent together, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other.
Celebrating a mother acknowledges the profound impact mothers have on their children’s lives and highlights their guidance, support and influence in shaping their children’s character, values and overall development.
Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated in many countries around the world to honour mothers and motherhood and although the dates and traditions may vary, it has become a day for people to express their appreciation for their mothers and mother figures, often through gifts, cards and special gestures of love and gratitude.
Date: In many countries, including India, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May every year and this year the celebration will fall on May 14, 2023. History and controvery: The history of Mother’s Day dates back to ancient times but the modern observance of the holiday began in the early 20th century.
As per ancient roots, the ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated festivals honouring mother goddesses such as Rhea and Cybele and these celebrations were held in the springtime and were dedicated to fertility and motherhood.
Early Christian celebrations of the 16th century had early Christians in England celebrating a day called “Mothering Sunday.” It was a time when people returned to their mother church, which was the main church or cathedral in their area and on this day, families would come together and children would present flowers or small gifts to their mothers.
In the United States, the origins of Mother’s Day can be traced back to the efforts of Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist and suffragette. In 1870, she wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” calling for women to unite for peace and disarmament.
The modern Mother’s Day as we know it, was championed by Anna Jarvis, an American social activist. After her own mother’s death in 1905, Jarvis campaigned to establish a national holiday to honour mothers as she wanted to create a day for individuals to express their love and gratitude to their mothers.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in the United States and this official recognition led to the widespread celebration of Mother’s Day in the country. Since then, Mother’s Day has been adopted by various countries around the world but while Anna Jarvis is often credited as the founder of Mother’s Day, she later became a vocal critic of the holiday due to its commercialisation.
Anna Jarvis initially envisioned Mother’s Day as a day of personal and heartfelt appreciation, where people would honour their own mothers with sincere sentiments and acts of kindness. As Mother’s Day gained popularity, Jarvis became increasingly disillusioned with its commercialisation and felt that the true meaning of the holiday was being overshadowed by the sale of greeting cards, flowers and other gifts.
Jarvis actively protested against the commercialisation of Mother’s Day and organised boycotts, threatened lawsuits and spoke out against the exploitation of the holiday for profit. She even campaigned for the abolition of Mother’s Day altogether.
Jarvis reportedly spent much of her later life and personal funds fighting against the commercialisation of Mother’s Day and became bitter and disheartened by what she saw as the corruption of her original intentions for the holiday. Despite her efforts, Jarvis was unable to halt the commercialisation of Mother’s Day however, her campaign drew attention to the issue and sparked ongoing discussions about the balance between genuine appreciation and commercial motives in celebrating the holiday.
While Anna Jarvis’s campaign against the commercialisation of Mother’s Day did not achieve its intended outcomes, it highlighted the importance of preserving the genuine sentiment behind the holiday and the potential pitfalls of excessive commercialisation.