Mother's Day

Held on : 8th May

Mothers Day is a festival which celebrates the joys of motherhood. It is an annual event held at different dates depending on the country but Second Sunday of May is the most widely accepted as the day of celebration. Early Mother's Day celebrations are traced back to the spring celebrations to honour Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, in ancient Greek civilization. Ancient Romans, too, celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. The more recent history of Mothers Day dates back to 1600s in England. Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom was traditionally a day for people to visit the church where they were baptised, although it now also celebrates motherhood in modern times.

The modern-day origins of Mother's Day can be credited to two women – Julia Ward Howe (poet and writer) and Anna Jarvis, who were important in establishing the tradition in the United States. Around 1870, Julia Ward Howe called for Mother's Day to be celebrated each year. It continued to be held in Boston for about 10 years under her sponsorship, but died out after that. Some sources believe that Juliet Calhoun Blakely initiated Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the late 1800s. Her sons paid tribute to her each year and urged others to honour their mothers. In 1907, Anna Jarvis held a private Mother's Day celebration in memory of her mother, Ann Jarvis, in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, she played a key role in arranging a church service that attracted 407 children and their mothers. In 1910, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother's Day. A year later, nearly every state officially marked the day. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother's Day as a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May. A Mother’s Day International Association was founded in 1912 to promote the holiday in other countries. Mother’s Day has grown increasingly popular since then.

The festival has become commercialised to a great extent. Florists, card manufacturers and gift sellers see huge business potential in the day and make good money through a rigorous advertising campaign. With card companies, flower shops, jewellery stores, gift shops, restaurants, hotels and department stores advertising promotions and special deals for this event. Anna Jarvis filed a lawsuit to stop the over-commercialization of Mother's Day but was unable to do so.

On this day people pay tribute to their mothers and express their love and gratitude for them. Many people send cards or gifts to their mother or mother figure or make a special effort to visit her. Common Mother's Day gifts are flowers, chocolate, candy, clothing, jewelry and treats, such as a beauty treatment or trip to a spa. Some families organize an outing for all of their members or hold a special meal at home or in a restaurant. In the days and weeks before Mother's Day, many schools help their pupils to prepare a handmade card or small gift for their mothers.

Mother's Day in different Countries

India - Mother's Day is celebrated nationally in 19th of August. The festival of Pâthâre Prabhu is celebrated in the same day only in Bombay and the Southern part of India (concretely Konkan and the districts below the Western Ghats). It is based on a legend about a mother whose children kept dying after only one year of living and it has a very remote origin. Although it's also called "Mother's Day", it is unrelated to the modern celebration, which is copied from the US and is celebrated in the whole country. The Pathare prabhu caste always celebrates this holiday

Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, United States many others - It is held on the second Sunday of May

United Kingdom - It is held exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday. Sundays are usually non-school and non-working days in these countries.

Costa Rica - Mother’s Day is an annual public holiday in countries such as (August 15, Georgia (March 3),

Samoa - It is observed on second Monday of May

Thailand - It is observed on August 12

Bolivia - In Bolivia, Mother's Day is celebrated on May 27th.

Nepal - It falls in the month of Baishak dark fortnight (April).

Vietnam - Mother's Day in Vietnam is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar. People with living mothers are thankful and people with dead mothers pray for their souls

Alternate Name - Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom and Ireland), Mata Tirtha Aunshi (Mother Pilgrimage fortnight in Nepal), Le Vu-lan (Vietnam)

Holiday Status - It is holiday in some countries like Costa Rica etc.