Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May. It complements Father's Day, a similar celebration honoring fathers. The celebration of Mother's Day began in the United States in the early 20th century; it is not related to the many celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have occurred throughout the world over thousands of years.The Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration.
Despite this, in some countries Mother's Day has become synonymous with these older traditions. The modern holiday of Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a campaign to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. Although she was successful in 1914, she was already disappointed with its commercialization by the 1920s.
Jarvis' holiday was adopted by other countries and it is now celebrated all over the world. In this tradition, each person offers a gift, card, or remembrance toward their mothers, grandmothers, and/ or maternal figure on mother's day. As the American holiday was adopted by other countries and cultures, the date was changed to fit already existing celebrations honoring motherhood, such as Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom or, in Greece, the Orthodox celebration of the presentation of Jesus Christ to the temple (2 February).Mothering Sunday is often referred to as "Mother's Day" even though it is an unrelated celebration. [5] In some countries the date was changed to a date that was significant to the majority religion, such as Virgin Mary Day in Catholic countries.
Other countries selected a date with historical significance. For example, Bolivia's Mother's Day is the date of a battle in which women participated. [13] See the "International history and tradition" section for the complete list.Ex-communist countries usually celebrated the socialist International Women's Day instead of the more capitalist Mother's Day. [14] Some ex-communist countries, such as Russia, still follow this custom[15] or simply celebrate both holidays, which is the custom in Ukraine. Kyrgyzstan has recently introduced Mother's Day, but International Women's Day remains a a more widely popular holiday.
The modern Mother's Day has been assimilated into Indian culture,[43] and it is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May. 44] In India, mothers are considered as god to their children. [45] Indians do not celebrate the occasion as a religious one, but do their best to thank their mothers for care and love. Traditionally, mothers are given great importance in Indian culture. The day is celebrated mostly in urban centers, by performing special acts to honour them and their contribution to the family.
Nine years after the first official United States Mother's Day, commercialization of the holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become and spent all her inheritance and the rest of her life fighting what she saw as an abuse of the celebration. Later commercialization and other exploitations of Mother's Day infuriated Jarvis and she made her criticisms explicitly known the rest of her life. She criticized the practice of purchasing greeting cards, which she saw as a sign of being too lazy to write a personal letter.She was arrested in 1948 for disturbing the peace while protesting against the commercialization of Mother's Day, and she finally said that she regretted having started it.
Mother's Day continues to be one of the most commercially successful U. S. occasions. It is possible that the holiday would have withered over time without the support and continuous promotion of the florist industries and other commercial industries. Other Protestant holidays from the same time, such as Children's Day and Temperance Sunday, do not have the same level of popularity.
Mother's Day is also prominent in the Sunday comic strips in the newspapers of the United States, expressing emotions ranging from sentimental to wry to caustic. Most countries including US, Australia, Canada and India celebrate Mothers Day on the second Sunday of May. Mother Day came into being due to the efforts made by Ms Julia Ward Howe and Ms Anna Jarvis. The Resolution for having a dedicated 'Mother's Day was signed by US President Woodrow Wilson on May 8, 1914. Since then people across the world have been celebrating Mothers Day with joy and devotion.Globalisation, to a great extent has helped to make this Western, or mainly American festival to make its presence felt in India.
Besides interaction of Indians with the West is at an all time high. A lot many people have been in US or have their relatives staying there. Internet and satellite revolution has made information about other cultures more accessible than ever. But the reason behind the success of Mothers Day in India can be attributed to the emotions which are attached to the festival. Mothers are mothers everywhere, they are as much loved and respected in India as in any other part of the world.
Perhaps Indians have always felt the need of such a day which is devoted solely to mothers. Mothers Day gives them all the opportunity to celebrate such a day. Just as in the West, Indians too take Mothers Day as a time too reflect on the importance of mothers in their life. They take it is time to think about all the pains their mother took while they were sick, the hardships she went through in bringing them up and all the sacrifices she made so that they lead a better life.
Mothers Day is the time to say a big thank you to mother for all this and for being a constant guiding force in our lives.In India, people send cards to their mamas on Mothers Day. Make a meal for Mothers so that she can have a days rest from the kitchen. Tradition of giving gifts on Mothers Day is also rampant. The whole idea of celebrating Mothers Day is to thank mother, to make her feel important on the day and be happy about mothering caring children.
Mothers should be pampered on the day by children and on the whole should be given a happy Mothers Day. Awareness about Mothers Day is much greater in metros and other big and happening cities than in smaller towns.Thanks to the booming card market, who keep reminding people about when is Mothers Day and how it must be celebrated. In the capital city of Delhi, Mothers Day is celebrated in a big way and has been commericalised to a great extent.
Big companies launch various women oriented products on the day and restaurants try to lure people with attractive advertisements. Media too creates a big hype about the day with special programmes and features. Looking at the fast pace at which the excitement for Mothers Day is growing it will not be long when the Mothers Day will be noted as the national festival of India.
