The Mothers' Day Phenomenon: A Short History and How It is Celebrated Worldwide

On March 14th this year, the United Kingdom celebrated Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday. Mums (and mums-to-be) were pampered, showered with cards and affection (hopefully!) and celebrated with much gusto. Motherhood is a role that is rarely easy (the so-called supermum who can work a job, cook a three course dinner every night and still have enough energy to be the ultimate wife is a myth, but many do try), sometimes frustration, often busy but ultimately nearly always rewarding. So what was the idea behind this concept? How did it start? How has it managed to grip people worldwide? This article will take a peek into this area and shed some light on this very topic.

Mother's Day, as we know it, is celebrated in various ways in many parts of the world. It is most commonly celebrated in May, although some countries - like the United Kingdom - do so in March coinciding with Lent. In the United States, Anna Jarvis made sure that mothers were recognised by making Mother's Day a national holiday. Father's Day does the same for dads but takes place in June. As an aside, I asked my dad one time "How come we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day in the UK but not Children's Day?" He laughed and said "because every day is children's day!" which is so true.

Mother's Day - A short history

It is thought that the concept emerged from a form of mother worship in Ancient Greece which kept a festival celebrating the 'great mother' of Greek gods called Cybele. It was celebrated around mid-March. The Romans also had a festival known as Matronalia - dedicated to the god Juno. On this day, mothers were given gifts. As the Romans converted to Christianity, this celebration became a part of the liturgical calendar as Laetare Sunday. This took place on the 4th Sunday in Lent to honour the Virgin Mary and the "mother church." In the 16th century, people went to their 'mother' church for a service on this Sunday. In later times, domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mothers and family (as many of them had either been taken from their families or wanted to go and better themselves).

By about the 1930s, celebration of Mother's Day in the UK and in Europe was in decline. The custom was revived when Americans and Canadian soldiers - who had come to fight in the Second World War - celebrated it. Thus, the tradition was revived although people in the UK and Ireland continued to celebrate it in March as opposed to May.

Furthermore, there is an International Women's Day. This was first celebrated in February 1909 and now it is celebrated in many countries on March 8th. It is an celebration of femaleness and womanhood. It is a national holiday in several countries including China, Ukraine, Vietnam, Uganda and Belarus. It is customary for men to give their wives, mothers, girlfriends, daughters and colleagues gifts and flowers.

How it is celebrated in the West - UK

Traditionally, Simnel cakes were baked and eaten on Mother's Day (hence it is also referred to as Simnel Sunday). This was to celebrate the reuniting of families during Lent. Your curiosity is piqued – what is Simnel Cake? Ok since you asked so nicely, I will tell you. Simnel cake is a light fruit cake that is covered in marzipan. It is eaten during Lent and Easter in the UK, Ireland and some other countries. It is made from white flour, sugar, butter, eggs, spices, dried fruit, zest and candied peel. A layer of marzipan or almond paste is baked into the middle of the cake. On top of it, are eleven marzipan balls to represent the disciples of Jesus – Judas is omitted. In some variations, Christ is represented as a ball placed in the centre. There are many excellent recipes for Simnel cake so enjoy!

It is also known - although rarely - as Refreshment Sunday owing to the slight relaxation in the laws of Lent. Rose Sunday is also used as a name for Laetere Sunday. This is because the purple coloured robes of Lent were replaced by rose-coloured ones. Nowadays, people are more likely to give cards and gifts to their mothers and, in some cases, their spouses.

Many - including the 'birth mother' Anna Jarvis herself - objected to the commercialisation of the holiday in the United States. She saw it as an abuse of the celebration and spent most of her life fighting this abuse. She criticised the use of cards as a sign that people were getting too lazy to write personal letters. She was even arrested in 1948 for disturbing the peace whilst demonstrating, stating that she wished "wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ...".1

She does have a point. Mother's Day is now the most popular day in the United States to dine out according to the Restaurant Association. According to IBISWorld, a publisher of business research, Americans will spend approximately $3 billion on flowers, just over $1.50 billion on gifts and just under $70 million on greeting cards. 2 Mother's Day will generate about 8% of the annual US jewelery revenue. It is fair to say that without the support and promotion of florists, jewelers and stores, Mother's Day would have declined in significance. Other holidays other - than Christmas and Easter - do not have the same level of popularity.3

Dates when other countries celebrate Mother's Day

United States: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Australia: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Belgium: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Brazil: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Canada: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Denmark: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Finland: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Germany: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Greece: Second Sunday in the month of May.

India: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Italy: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Japan: Second Sunday in the month of May.

New Zealand: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Singapore: Second Sunday in the month of May.

Turkey: Second Sunday in the month of May.

United Kingdom/England: Mother's Day is called Mothering Sunday and falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

France: First Sunday in June or last Sunday in May

Much of South America (as well as Mexico), Bahrain, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates: May 10

Mexico: - May 8

Albania: - March 8

Russia: - November 28

Poland: - May 26

Indonesia: - December 22

Egypt: - March 21

Norway: - February 13

Thailand: Birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara - August 12

Sweden: Last Sunday in May

Lebanon: First day of Spring

Norway: The second Sunday in February

Austria, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Taiwan, Hungary, Portugal, South Africa, Spain: First Sunday in May

Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica: Assumption day - August 15

Argentina: The Día de la Madre - The second or third Sunday in October

So there you have it, a brief foray into Mother's Day. It is a day not just to celebrate mothers but to celebrate womanhood in general. It is also a time for reflection too - but too much because there is cake to be eaten...

Take care and God bless readers

Ngozi Nwabineli © 18th March 2010

notes

1 ^ a b c AP (2008-05-11). "Mother's Day reaches 100th anniversary, The woman who lobbied for this day would berate you for buying a card". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24556903/. Retrieved 2008-07-07

2 Recession or not: Mom comes 1st (phillyBurbs.com) | Local Business

3 Barnett Helzberg (2003). John Wiley and Sons. ed. What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffet. p. 80. ISBN 0471445398

Image used on article from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bzDlewLyaIY/SgR6iGq_jQI/AAAAAAAADtM/2cZAuqU-myY/s400/mothers-day-in-world.jpg