What is Mother’s Day?
Mother’s Day is a day marked to celebrate mothers and honor motherhood. It is an annual celebration. Usually, this day is celebrated by pampering and appreciating our mothers for the important roles that she play in our life, and for all of the wonderful things that they have done for us..
All mothers are given this special day to be shown gratitude, respect and appreciation for all hardships that they go through in bringing up their children. We might buy them a gift or take them out for dinner. In any case, it is traditional to purchase them a nice card.
Mother’s Day is celebrated in several countries around the world, including in India. This festival also goes by the alternative name of Mothering Sunday.
When is Mother’s Day celebrated in India?
In India, the second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother’s Day every year. This is the same as in the USA and many countries. However, the date varies in some countries. In Britain, for example, it occurs usually on the second Sunday of March.
2017 Date: Sunday, the 14th day of May, 2017.
Origin of Mother’s Day
In actual fact, Mother’s Day only really came to be celebrated in India within the last decade. However, roots to the festival can be traced back to ancient ages.
Mother’s Day is a festival that has had many iterations. It has been ‘reborn’ in different ways throughout the centuries. As such, it may be said to have had many origins or points of renewal.
As far as we can tell, Mother’s Day properly began in the times of Classical Greece, where festivals were held to celebrate mother goddesses such as Cybele, Rhea and Demeter. However, many historians argue that in its recognizable form.
Mother’s Day truly began with a Christian festival. With the advent of Christianity, worshippers held festivals and celebrations of the Virgin Mary. In Christian majority countries in the medieval and early modern period, this extended to cover all mothers. A festival called ‘Mothering Sunday’, celebrating motherhood in general, was thus born.
The modern-day celebration of Mother’s Day was first celebrated by Anna Jarvis in 1908. In that year, she held a memorial in honor of her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church. Today, the Shrine of International Mother’s situated in the same church situated in Grafton, West Virginia, United States. The activist started her campaign to have Mother’s Day recognized by the United States’ government as a national holiday in the year 1905 when her mother passed away. She wanted the day to be used to honor mothers and the work that they do in the society. Her campaign was mainly inspired by her mother’s life story. She considered her a remarkable woman and wanted motherhood to be something celebrated across the country and all over the world.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson, the then president of the US signed it to be enacted as a national celebration. Since then, the day has been falling on the second Sunday of May every year although at times the day for celebration varies.
In India, though the Christians celebrate Mother’s day as a religious festival. In the present day, Mother’s Day is more of a secular festival and as such celebrated by non-Christians as a celebration of motherhood.
Significance
The significance of Mother’s Day can be divided into various categories, including religious, historical, personal and commercial.
- Religious significance: Mother’s Day stems from Christian celebrations of the Virgin Mary. These extended into a celebration of all mothers via the Christian festival of Mothering Sunday.
- Historical significance: Mother’s Day is an ancient festival, with roots at least in Ancient Greece.
- Honor Mothers and Motherhood: This day we honor, appreciate and thank mothers and all mother like figures - the struggle, the restraint and resilient nature shown by mothers while bringing up their kids. Everyone knows the struggles and hardships that mothers go through during the pregnancy and child-birth. After our birth, our mothers play the most important role in raising the child.
- Bond of Love: Mother’s Day is what we make of it. All of our mothers are unique and that is why we love them! This day is all about celebrating maternal love. So, Mother’s Day also has a deep personal significance, one that strengthens the bond of love between a mother and child.
- To push feminist causes: Mother’s Day has often been used as a Day to push feminist causes. Events are normally held to address issues affecting women and mothers and to propose ways in which those challenges can be dealt with.
- Social significance: To remind ourselves as a society about the joy of motherhood and what it means to the community.
- Commercial significance: In modern times, whether you like this or not, Mother’s Day is a significant event in the commercial calendar. Shops sell cards, gifts, balloons and more to celebrate this special day.
Whatever significance Mother’s Day holds for us personally, one thing is clear: mothers are so important and we should honor them.
How is Mother’s Day celebrated?
In India, Mother’s day is celebrated in a manner similar to the Anglo-American fashion, i.e. predominantly by sending Mother’s Day Cards with messages of love and affection in them. Mother’s Day can be celebrated in the following ways:
- Cards: Many people across the world do appreciate their biological mothers or their mother like figures by giving them cards that are embossed with special messages meant to show how valuable mothers are to the world.
- Buying gifts for mothers: Mother’s Day is an ideal time to gift mothers and demonstrate that we love and care about them. Appropriate gifts for this day include dinner at a good restaurant, electronic gadgets, a vacation package, coffee mugs, shoes, dresses, and fashion accessories. Children and fathers can both gift mothers on this day.
- A family get-together: A family gathering with wonderful food, drinks, and entertainment is also a great way to celebrate motherhood. It gives the mother an opportunity to spend time with her family as they share love and celebrate her.
- Attending public functions: Mothers Day also involves public celebrations in some big cities - attending public functions organized to honor motherhood.
- Dinner or cinema: Some people choose to pamper their mothers by taking them out for dinner or to the cinema.
- School events: Special Mother’s Day events take place in some schools and these are some of the most major Mother’s Day events in India. During these events, mothers are invited into schools to bring food to share with the children, whilst children might present their mothers with pictures they have drawn or songs they have been practicing to sing.
Thus, some buy flowers, some buy jewels to give their mothers, some give them cards while others take them to expensive restaurants as a surprise to the mothers.
Mother’s Day wishes and greetings
The best way to make your mother go awe for you is by pouring your heart out and telling how much you love her and how important she is for you. To help you here are a few saying or quotes by some great people that no wonder going to make your mother feel super special too:
- “God cannot be everywhere, and therefore so he made mothers.” - by Rudyard Kipling.
- “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” - by Abraham Lincoln
- “Motherhood is difficult and rewarding.” - by Gloria Estefan.
- “Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” - by Barbara Kingsolver.
Conclusion
Mother’s Day should always be a day that is filled with joy and peace. They say there is nothing stronger more than the bond that exists between mother and child. Mothers are special, and that is why it is important to make Mother’s Day a special day every year. In addition, we should celebrate and care for our mothers on every single day of the year.
Also read about Mother’s Day in Wikipedia.
Note: This article has been contributed by several contributors. In case you find any mistake/error, please help us correct it.