“My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it.”
?Mark Twain
I first became a parent 22 years ago this Sunday, at a hospital in Western Massachusetts. Prior to the birth of my first daughter, Nicole, I perceived Mother”s Day as a “Hallmark Holiday.” I went through the motions of buying my mother a card and a gift and sometimes even making breakfast for her. As I recall I was not much of a culinary artist. Oh well, it”s the thought that counts, right?
Since the day now holds more significance for me; I decided to research the origin of it. As it turns out, it is not a holiday craftily contrived by an ambitious greeting card industry after all.
I learned in one folklore-ish tale that the reason bouquets of flowers are traditional gifts is because servant girls were able to return home in the springtime to see their families and typically the weather improved enough for the long walk in May. Young girls would often pick flowers for their mothers along the trek.
Some attribute the holiday to the Mothering Sunday, which was celebrated much before the holiday Mother”s Day came to the U.S. This was accompanied by the “mothering cake,” a rich fruit cake also known as the “simnel cake.”
Another story names Anna Jarvis as the founder of Mother”s Day and indicates carnations were the first flower to represent Mother”s Day. Jarvis was said to give a white carnation to every person at an early celebration of Mother”s Day, as a symbol of the purity of the love of her mother. Jarvis worked selflessly on behalf of miners for better working conditions. She chose the carnation because it was her mother”s favorite flower.
Mother”s Day is celebrated worldwide. There are hundreds of stories claiming the origin.
Some say African countries adopted the idea from the British, but many festivals and events celebrating mothers on the continent of Africa, long pre-date colonization.
In Nepal and in Hindu tradition, Mother”s Day is known as “Mata Tirtha Aunshi” “Mother Pilgrimage fortnight.”
According to information found on the Web site, holidayspot.com, Julia Ward Howe wrote the original Mothers” Day proclamation in 1870, in response to the brutalities of the ongoing Franco-Prussian War. What she did as a humanitarian reaction was make an impassioned “appeal to womanhood” to rise against war. She had the proclamation translated into French, Spanish, Italian, German and Swedish, and disseminated it internationally.
What a cool day for a daughter to be born.
American Presidents give a Mother”s Day Proclamation each year, a tradition that started with President Woodrow Wilson on May 9, 1914.
The earliest story of Mothers Day I could find dates back to the ancient annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to maternal goddesses. The Greeks used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology.
I know that my Mother”s Day daughter remains a constant gift. There were no terrible two”s, the teen years breezed by as she has graced my life with a calm temperament and strong moral fiber and most importantly, a kind and compassionate heart. Happy birthday Nicole.
Becoming a mother to both of my daughters challenged me to be a better person. I knew they were watching. My actions and words all of a sudden mattered like never before. I grew up as they grew up. I learned the most urgent life lessons from my children. I learned to handle life with the grace of an adult rather than the grief of a child. I became more patient.
I remember with all of my senses the moment my children entered this world. I am so grateful that I was given the gift of motherhood.
Some mothers are great inspirations. For others, mother may only serve as half of a word.
I thank my mother for giving me life. I apologize for the yucky, runny eggs and burnt toast.
“All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.” ? Abraham Lincoln
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee news editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com
