Happy Mother’s Day to all of the wonderful Moms at AMS, and a special salute to the Grandmothers. Mothers deserve the extra attention, the flowers, the hugs, the dinner out, the new bathrobe, whatever the family comes up with to show her she’s the glue that holds the world together.
Looking at the history website to see where Mother’s Day came from, we see that Mothers have been celebrated for a long, long time. While we don’t know how Mom was celebrated in pre-historical times, we’d make a bet she has always been honored… since there would be no ‘world’ but for her.
Within the historical record, we find Mother celebrated in the Greek and Roman cultures with festivals to honor the Mother Goddesses, Rhea and Cybele. We also see a precedent for Mother’s Day in an early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” The European celebrations fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent when the faithful would return to the ‘mother church’, or the main church in the community, for a special service. It was called the Mothering Sunday.
How did these celebrations turn into our national Mother’s Day of today? Well, apparently it did not come to pass without some controversy, as the woman who originated it did not like the way that it was later commercialized. From the History article we find out about that issue:
“Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity.
“While Jarvis had initially worked with the floral industry to help raise Mother’s Day’s profile, by 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had been commercialized. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies.
“Jarvis eventually resorted to an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers, speaking out against confectioners, florists and even charities. She also launched countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day,” eventually spending most of her personal wealth in legal fees. By the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.”
Well, that was interesting! The article goes on to reveal that Anna Jarvis herself never had children… never was a Mother. To read the full article, click HERE
What should Mother’s Day actually be? We could possibly go back to the Goddess worship… that’s an idea… or create something new.
Mother is the field from which Life emerges, so honoring her is a given. Most of us had good, nurturing, loving Mothers and many of those have been spectacular. So how do we best show her we love her?
If you are fortunate enough to have your Mother near, and it is safe and healthy to visit her, go and see your Mother on Mother’s Day – you mean the world to her. Buy her whatever gifts you know she would love and basically make it Her day. Whether you spend money on her or not, give her your time and thought and attention – give her your version of Mother’s Day. That’s the perfect one for Mom.
