Mother's Day 2020 date: Origin, history and evolution over the years

Do you know its origin?

Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, May 8 (EMN): Every second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother's Day across the globe. This year, the celebrations might be different from that of previous years as most of countries are under lockdown. However, leading up to May 10, many people might be planning to make the day special for their moms by presenting bouquets, baking delectable cakes or pastries, cards and other gifts.

But chances are that not all those celebrating the event know its origins.

History of Mother’s Day

According to history.com, celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

Over time, the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted to a more secular holiday, and children would 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.

Ann Reeves Jarvis

In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868, Jarvis organised “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” where mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

In 1908, Jarvis organised a memorial for her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. She first started her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognised holiday in the year 1905, when her mother had passed away.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvi, who remained unmarried and childless her whole life, resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honouring motherhood.

By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Jarvis decries commercialised Mother’s Day

Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalised on its popularity.

While Jarvis had initially worked with the floral industry to help raise the profile of Mother’s Day, by 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had been commercialised. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies.

Jarvis eventually resorted to an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers, speaking out against confectioners, florists and even charities. She also launched countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day,” eventually spending most of her personal wealth in legal fees. By the time of her death in 1948, Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.

Mother’s Day around the world

While versions of Mother’s Day are celebrated worldwide, traditions vary depending on the country. In Thailand, for example, Mother’s Day is always celebrated in August on the birthday of queen Sirikit. Mother’s Day was first introduced to Thailand on April 15, 1950. In 1976, Mother’s Day was changed to August 12 to commemorate the birthday of Queen Sirikit, who is regarded as the mother of all Thai people.

In Ethiopia, Mother’s Day is not only a day of celebrating motherhood but it also sets the tone for a new season. The three-day feast celebrated during Mother’s Day is known as “Antrosht”. People of Ethiopia celebrate by organising massive meals with family and friends and by preparing the traditional recipe of the country, “hash”.

In the United States, Mother’s Day continues to be celebrated by presenting mothers and other women with gifts and flowers, and it has become one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending. Families also celebrate by giving mothers a day off from activities like cooking or other household chores.

At times, Mother’s Day has also been a date for launching political or feminist causes. In 1968 Coretta Scott King, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., used Mother’s Day to host a march in support of underprivileged women and children. In the 1970s women’s groups also used the holiday as a time to highlight the need for equal rights and access to childcare.