AppreciatingMothers
By Rebecca G.
Mother?s Day is a special day, when we
take some time to appreciate our mothers.
Everyone does it differently; some might buy
chocolates, cards, or flowers and yet others do
the dishes or housework for their mom.
Have you ever wondered where
Mother?s Day really started? Or even how it
started?
Well, some celebrations of mothers can
be taken all the way back to the Greeks and
Romans. These people performed ceremonies
in honor of their ?mother goddesses?.
Mother?s Day was also used by the Christians.
Christians called it the ?Mothering Sunday.?
When it became a major tradition in
certain areas of Europe and the United
Kingdom, it fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent.
This celebration was seen primarily as a time
when faithful people would go back to their
?mother church.?
In later years, the holiday?s traditions
changed. Some of these changes included
children giving their mothers chocolates,
candies, or flowers on Mother?s Day.
In 1870, another woman, Julia Ward
Howe, wrote the ?Mother?s Day Proclamation.?
This Proclamation was a call for action. It
asked for mothers to gather together and help
boost world peace. At the time, Howe called
for Mother's Peace Day to be celebrated every
June 2.
Sometime in the 1900s, Mother?s Day
grew in importance thanks to Anna Jarvis.
Jarvis helped to begin a ?Mother?s Day Works
Club.? This club helped to teach mothers and
other women proper childcare techniques. In
fact, in May 1908, Jarvis organized the first
official Mother's Day celebration.
Some traditions of Mother?s Day around
the world are celebrated differently. In
Thailand, Mother's Day is celebrated in
August, on the birthday of the queen, Sirikit.
In Ethiopia, families get together every
fall and sing songs along with eating a large
feast. While in the United States, mothers are
given flowers or other gifts.
Let?s take time to thank our mothers for
all they do for us.
This Day in Histor y
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