12/5/13 – Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to all of those of you out there who know the joys of motherhood. Face-time with Cameron and Alistair was wonderful and although they couldn’t be there lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria was delicious!  But did you know that you should thank the USA for this holiday?

Mother's Day is an celebration honouring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May. It complements Father's Day, a similar celebration honouring fathers. (Too bad kids – no Children’s Day!!)

 

Mother's Day began in the US in the early 20th century; it is not related to the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration (which originally was a medieval ritual of going back to your ‘mother’ church to pay homage). Despite this, in some countries the American version of Mother's Day has become synonymous with these older traditions. In Australia we’ve tended to blend the two.

The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s. Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day.

Various observances honouring mothers existed in America during the 1870s and the 1880s, but these never had resonance beyond the local level. Jarvis never mentioned Julia Ward Howe's attempts in the 1870s to establish a "Mother's Day for Peace", nor any connection to the Protestant school celebrations that included "Children's Day" amongst others. Neither did she mention the traditional festival of Mothering Sunday, but always said that the creation was hers alone.

In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association. She specifically noted that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honour its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers of the world."

This is also the spelling used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in the law making official the holiday in the United States, by the U.S. Congress in relevant bills, and by various U.S. presidents in their proclamations concerning Mother's Day. However, "Mothers' Day" (plural possessive) or "Mothers Day" (plural non-possessive) are also sometimes seen.

Who would have known all this??? I am becoming such a big fan of the point of interest extra-curricular education! Please note that this is different to Sugata Mitra’s SOLE (Self Organised Learning Environment) Education.