Operation Just Cause... ...for as long as it takes
by Gene Griisser
On Sunday, May 9 we will celebrate a very special day. Long distance phone lines will be clogged, restaurants will be filled to capacity and florists will be working overtime all weekend to fill and deliver orders. We celebrate Mother's Day.
Long ago in ancient Greece, a land of many myths, legends and Gods, the Greeks honored Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. On this special day, Rhea was honored in a springtime celebration.
In more recent times, England held a Mothering Sunday, celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent each year. During the 1600s when Mothering Sunday first became popular, servants would be given this special Sunday off, so they could travel home and visit with their Mothers. Many would bring a specially prepared cake, a "Mothering Cake". Others would bring fresh flowers or other small gifts, making Mothering Sunday a festive occasion.
Churches eventually joined in the observance of Mothering Sunday, adding the "Mother" church as another source of guidance and power. People began honoring their Mothers through the church, and the church embraced the celebration.
The first recorded effort to start an organized Mother's Day celebration in the United States was in 1862. Julia Ward Howe, author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, organized regional celebrations of Mother's Day in and around her Boston home.
It wasn't until this century however that Mother's Day really became an important and widely observed holiday. In 1904, Anna Jarvis tried for three years after her Mother's death to get her church to honor not just her Mother, but all Mothers in a special service. Finally, on May 10, 1907 in a service attended by Anna's family and friends, the first Mother's Day celebration was held. This celebration spread in the following years, lead by the undaunted Anna who wanted a national day to honor Mothers.
Mrs. Jarvis succeeded in getting Mother's Day declared an official state holiday in 1913 in Pennsylvania. Through her diligent efforts, and with a lot of financial help from enthusiastic supporters, in 1914 the US Congress declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day.
The world today is so different than the world of just a few years ago. As we race through life very little seems to stay the same. But we all have that one constant in life - a Mother. We feel a unique bond to that one special woman who gave us life and nurtured us to adulthood. Enjoy, celebrate, and honor the day. And don't forget to give Mom a call and tell her how much you love her!
This article came from the Parents Place Website
