The origins of Mother's Day by Virginia Saalman Some may think that Mother's Day, celebrated in the United States and other countries around the world, was the idea of the Florist industry, an industry that benefits greatly from our desire to honor the first female hero in our lives.
Mother's Day had its beginning in ancient Greece and the spring celebration honoring Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. Early Christians celebrated the festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary. More recently, relatively speaking, England in the 1600's - the celebration was called "Mothering Sunday" and was the 4th Sunday of Lent. After attending church services, children returned home with gifts, flowers and special cakes. Mother's day celebrations in the United States were first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. She held organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston every year and in 1907, she led the campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ana Jarvis was a Philadelphian whose mother lived in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1907 Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, which happened to be on the 2nd Sunday of May that year. Soon Jarvis and her supporters were successful in their efforts to establish a national Mother's Day and by 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state in the nation. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May Mother's Day, an official national holiday and the nation has been honoring its mothers ever since. The florist industry blooms economically every Mother's Day and ironically, Ana Jarvis grew bitter over what she perceived as the corruption of the holiday she created. She is quoted as saying that she was sorry that she ever started Mother's Day. Jarvis died alone in a sanatorium in 1948. On a more personal level, Mother's Day often conjures up teary-eyed remembrances of the woman who carried us for nine months, who taught us to tie our shoes, wiped our noses, consoled us when we fell, cradled us on our first visit to the hospital, who never forgot a birthday and who, in all likelihood still has, tucked away in her closet, a box full of our first crayon drawings, report cards, our baptism and graduation certificates, our scouting awards, and every other tangible reminder of the child she will love forever. And after we left home, who else but a Mom would greet us with a cheery smile and a hug when welcome back to do our laundry. http://www.evergladesecho.com/articles/2005/05/04/front/top_stories/news01.txt ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/OCfFmA/UOnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.org *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
