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MOTHER'S
DAY------------
M... is for the million things she gave
me,
O... means only that she's growing old,
T... is for the tears she shed to save me,
H... is for her heart of purest gold;
E... is for her eyes, with love-light
shining,
R... means right, and right she'll always
be.
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
--Howard Johnson (c. 1915)
HISTORY AND CUSTOMS...
Mother's Day is now observed throughout the United States and in some other
countries as well. It took some time and a lot of effort to make it the holiday
that it is today. It is a special day in which every child, young and old, is
supposed to honor their mothers. The original concept for the day was that all
mothers are supposed to be honored, whether they were living or gone.
The roots of the traditional Mother's Day dates back to the spring celebrations
in ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, wife of Cronus, the Mother of all of the
gods and goddesses. It evolved later into a day called Mothering Sunday which
was celebrated in England. It was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Yet
to spread to the United States, this special holiday evolved yet again as a
religious time in which it was used to honor the Mother Church.
Finally, in the year of 1872, in the United States, Julia Ward Howe suggested
that a Mother's Day be held in the states. Not much came of that until a woman
named Anna Jarvis came along. She was a spinster who was completely devoted to
her mother, Anna Reese Jarvis. After the death of her mother in 1905, the
younger Anna was left to care for her blind sister who was named Elsinor. Then,
in 1907, Anna Jarvis stated a campaign with the help of friends and neighbors to
have an official day declared as Mother's Day. She thought that having an
official day, in which mothers around the United States would be honored, would
help for children to honor their mothers and to appreciate them, especially
while they were still alive.
The next year, in 1908, Anna organized a church service to honor her late
mother. She made sure to take red carnations, which were her mother's favorite
flower, to the church for the special service. She then persuaded the church to
continue holding a Mother's Day observance on the second Sunday of every May.
She and her followers continued to campaign, and by the end of the next year,
Pennsylvania was observing this holiday. In the year of 1911, this holiday
honoring mothers had become so popular that it was celebrated in many more
states, too. Finally, two years later, in May of the year 1913, the House of
Representatives adopted a resolution that requested that the President and all
other officials of the federal government wear a carnation on Mother's Day.
Finally, in the year of 1914, then-President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that
Mother's Day was a national holiday and that it would be observed on the second
Sunday of every May. It has been observed ever since, year after year, without
fail.
Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different
times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and
Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the U.S.
SOME MOTHERLY ADVICE...
Always change your underwear; you never know when you'll have an accident.
Don't make that face or it'll freeze in that position.
Be careful or you'll put your eye out.
What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?
You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow potatoes!
Close that door! Were you born in a barn?
If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.
Don't put that in your mouth; you don't know where it's been! |
