 | The date: the second Monday in May (2006 – 14.05)
American Mother’s Day (as Father’s Day, though) owed its initiation to two activists. One of them, Julia Ward Howe was a poetess and became famous for her words for the patriotic song “The Republic Battle Hymn”. For the first time she suggested to celebrate June, 2 as Mother’s Day and Peace Day, thinking that it would help to reconcile people after the Civil War...However, in order the holiday to take place, one more woman’s efforts were required. Her name was Anna Jarvis, she is considered to be a Mother’s Day foundress in the USA. She even was called the Mother of the Mother’s Day. Paradoxically but she didn’t have any children...
According to this energetic woman’s idea, the holiday should be devoted to all the mothers, both the quick and the dead. Because the price paid for the sake of their children is immeasurable and inestimable, and often there is no gratitude. Anna, in contrast to many others, treated her mother with respect and love, so her social eagerness could be explained by aspiration to honor her mother. For the beginning she ordered a special church service in her honor, decorated a church with white carnations – the favorite flowers of her mother. They seemed for Anna to be an embodiment of pure parent’s love and later they became an “official” holiday symbol (e.g. a red carnation in buttonhole symbolized that a mother of a person, who wore it, was alive, and white carnation symbolized that she was dead). The beginning was founded and Anna with her adherents started to go to officials and write them letters with a request to support their idea. Their work was not lost and in 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated practically in every states of America. To tell you the truth, it was not in June but in May.
In our time this feast has spread around the whole world – it is celebrated not only in the USA, but also in India, Denmark, France, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Belgium. For the most of people this day is a great possibility to please their mothers, grandmothers and other matriarchs, thank them for their love and support. This day telephone lines are overladen and it is problematically to reach somebody by phone. Post office also works in emergency conditions, it delivers and sorts out millions of postcards. Flowers, candies and other goods suitable for Mother’s Day are bought up very quickly. In general Mother’s Day has become one of the most profitable feast little by little (the best word to describe it in English is “over commercialized”). It happened not in our time but during Anna Jarvis’ life, who died in 1948. They say she was terribly disappointed by the result of her beginnings and even tried to struggle against a defective tendency through habit. Especially Miss Jarvis was indignant with the fact of carnations trade on Mother’s day which was set on a large scale – she put a high sense into these flowers, but capitalists vulgarized it in a moment. I have to notice that a struggle against tradespeople Anna failed, it should have been expected.
How is Mother’s Day celebrated?
In many countries the way how to celebrate this holiday was taken from American traditions (or English). Mothers are relieved of every day routine like house cleaning and cooking. They have breakfast in their beds, close people make coffee for them, give bunches of flowers, candies and gifts - both symbolic and expensive ones. Little children, who don’t have money, make gifts and postcards themselves. This day restaurants are overcrowded – mothers shouldn’t cook but everybody has to eat somewhere. Although often a husband and children cook a holiday dinner themselves to have wonderful dinner in an intimate atmosphere. Especially Mother’s Day is a time of family reunification.
Best of all is meeting each other at a holiday table to get a perfect Mother's Day.
Written by MotherKristy
Submitted by MotherKristy |  |
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