There is one relationship in this mortal life which effortlessly scores above all other known relationships on this earth.
Feeling confused? Don’t scratch your head too much as that extraordinary relationship is none other than that of the mother, which is truly priceless in terms of her countless love, dedication, and devotion towards her family.
To acknowledge the presence of all mothers around the globe, Mother’s Day is celebrated across more than 46 countries of the world. This is truly a special day for the mothers who are mostly underrated in this male-dominated society.
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the worship of mythological gods and paganism. People in ancient Greece would hold annual celebrations in the spring in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods.
As a part of the celebration, people would make offerings of honey cakes, fine drinks, and flowers at dawn.The Romans also had a mother of all gods that they worshipped. Her name was Magna Mater meaning “Great Mother”.
They built a temple for her in Rome, and every March, there was a celebration in her honor called the Festival of Hilaria. Gifts were brought to the temple to please the powerful mother-goddess.
The present-day celebration of Mother’s Day began in the year 1908 when Anna Jarvis organized a memorial for her mother, Ann Jarvis, a peace activist who used to care the wounded soldiers of the American Civil War.
The event was held at the St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, which currently holds the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
Anna Jarvis began the task of getting support for the celebration of Mother’s Day in the United States in 1905 after her mother died the same year. She wanted to honor all the mothers of the world who have done a lot for their family and society.
Due to her continuous efforts, most of the US states by 1911 started celebrating Mother’s Day as a local holiday and the West Virginia, the home state of Jarvis became the first state to declare the holiday for the occasion in the year 1910.
Finally, the second Sunday of May was officially designated as Mother’s Day in the USA and was declared as a national holiday after Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of United States of America signed the proclamation in the year 1914. In this way, the present Mother’s Day came into existence in the USA and the same date is also selected by countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, and a lot more other countries.
The Adoption By Christianity during the 1600s, Christian groups in England adopted the tradition but called it “Mothering Sunday” as a way to honor the mothers of England.
Because many of England’s poor lived and worked as servants for the wealthy, far away from their homes and families, they were given Mothering Sunday off and were allowed to return home and spend the day with their mothers.
A special cake, called the “mothering cake,” was often baked to add to the festivities, and many attended a special service at the “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home.
Over time, the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and it became traditional for children to present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation.
This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s
Now, in our day, Mother’s Day is one of the most profitable holidays in the world.
Flower shops, gift shops, and other retailers generate billions and billions of dollars every year from people who buy gifts for their mothers on Mother’s Day.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), “The average person will spend about $140 for Mother’s Day, meaning the total spending will reach about $16 billion.”Even more, according to The History Channel, more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year.
So the telecommunications industry is cashing in too!What Those Who Don’t Celebrate Are Saying those who don’t celebrate Mother’s Day say, “Why choose only one day of the year to make your mom feel special? Why choose just one day of the year to call her?”They also ask, “Why celebrate a holiday that originated with the worship of mythological gods?”
They even question why someone would support a holiday that really has nothing to do with one’s mom, but more to do with retailers wanting to cash in.Why do we celebrate Mother’s Day?
Mother’s Day is an occasion which is celebrated in various parts of the world to express respect, honor, and love towards mothers.
The day is an event to honor the contribution of mothers, acknowledge the efforts of maternal bonds and the role of mothers in our society.
Although, different countries celebrate the occasion on different dates, the common months of the celebrations are March or May.
Mother’s Day is a similar effort like other celebrations like Father’s Day, Siblings Day, Grandparents Day and others.It is a day which makes people remember the importance and significance of mothers in their life and is observed as a day to give special emphasis to the motherly figures around the world.
Not All mothers deserve to be celebrated on Mothers Day just as many hold the view that fathers’ day is not really relevant.
We ask, is the day for mothers or Ladies or women? We can celebrate all women on International Women’s Day but we cannot celebrate all of them on Mother’s Day.
Today is like a birthday for some people. The fact that you were born in May does not mean you qualify to celebrate your birthday today.
With this mindset, we hold the view that Mother’s Day celebrations should not be diluted by celebrating all women or ladies who do not know what it really means to be a mother.
The big question is who is a mother?A true mother is a woman with virtually endless love, protection, selflessness at the peril of her life.
A sacrificial lamb who seeks the welfare of her children with the aim of making them competent beings she can look at and say, all my genuine sacrifices paid off.A mother provides emotional warmth. Such people subjugate their personal comfort for the child.
You see, it is so complex and a preserve of those who deserve it. It is like a Nobel Peace Prize. Everyone cannot be celebrated today.
It is that emotional connection between a mum and the child that makes one to be called a mother, but being celebrated today goes beyond that.
We have some women who have helped and treated people better than their biological mothers would have done to them but not all women are mothers.
There are those who gave birth as well yet don’t qualify to be mothers because of some mistakes or issues they failed to handle properly.This Mother’s Day, how about we remind mothers all over the world the importance this day has?
This day is designated for a position that needs to be earned in order to be celebrated. This is a day that sets examples for future mothers.
A day to celebrate the nurturing, the endless sacrifices, the tears shed on your graduation or every time you got hurt, all the pain endured, all the worrying and sleepless nights.
This is a day to celebrate something which cannot be put into mere words. It is an occasion that deserves a lifetime of celebration; just one day out of 365 simply does not do it justice.
And therefore, the magnitude of this day needs to be understood by all mothers.This day is one not to be taken for granted, especially by those who choose to leave their child behind, unattended, for a shopping spree, regardless of what the reasons or circumstances might be.
Every mother does not deserve to be celebrated, and every mother does not deserve Mother’s Day. Undeserving mothers, who abdicate their true responsibility, are honoured just because they are mothers.
And that is not fair to all the extraordinary moms out there. That, in essence, is taking out the mother from Mother’s Day.
Let us celebrate those that genuinely deserve the mother status, Don’t let every woman out there feel they are a part of the ‘Sheroes’ we are celebrating.
Don’t throw around the feel-good wishes.
Happy Mother’s Day to the genuine mothers out there…You know sincerely if you are worth celebrating or not.