The start of Mother's Day

Hallmark didn't start Mother's Day celebration. Mother's Day dates back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece. Mother worship - which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus - was held on March 15 to March 18 around Asia Minor. They insist that this custom spread around the world from there. The Romans called their version of the event the Hilaria. Early Christians celebrated the festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ.

Mother's Day celebration in the United States can be traced back in the early 1900's and finally became a national holiday in 1914. In England the holiday was expanded to include all mothers. It was then called Mothering Sunday.

Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (typically March or early April). It has been celebrated for hundreds of years, though the exact origin is uncertain. Tradition has it that young apprentices were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families.

In most countries, Mother's Day is a new concept copied from western civilisation. In many African countries, Mother's Day has its origins in copying the British concept. In most of East Asia, Mother's Day is a heavily marketed and commercialised concept copied straight from Mother's Day in the USA.

In the United States, Mother's Day celebration started in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe suggested that the day be dedicated to peace. In 1907, a woman named Anna Jarvis, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania schoolteacher, furthered the cause by organizing a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions of her community. She thought the day would be best advocated by mothers and called the day "Mother's Work Day".

When Anna died in 1905 her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life of her mother. Anna then began to lobby the politicians of the time to support a day dedicated to mothers. Anna Jarvis talked to many politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt hoping they would support her campaign.

Anna Jarvis' hard work began to pay off five years after that service in 1913. The House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling for officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on the day many began calling Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May.

Finally on May 8, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

That was the first official Mother's Day and the tradition carries on to this day. In fact, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. The second Sunday in May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.

In the United States, children often make a homemade breakfast for mother to enjoy while she relaxes in bed. Others create gifts for Mom or surprise her by helping Dad prepare dinner. Some say, "I love you" and "thanks for all you have done for me" with a handmade card and a bouquet of fresh roses from a local floral retailer. In some homes it has become a tradition that each child give Mom a rose for each year of his or her age.

Mother's Day is also celebrated on the second Sunday in May in Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium. In Norway, it falls on the second Sunday in February and in Argentina on the second Sunday in October, while Lebanon's official day is held on the first day of spring. In Russia, they celebrate "Women's Day" in early March, while in Mexico it is always on May 10. Yugoslavia, Japan, South Africa and India also commemorate Mother's Day.

In Spain and Portugal, Mother's Day is December 8. Tribute is paid to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Children honor their mothers at this time by presenting them with gifts of white roses signifying strength and devotion. Also, on that day a group of young people visit the President's wife, presenting her with a bouquet of red roses and mixed flowers, and greetings from every boy and girl in the land.

The last Sunday in May is celebrated much like a family birthday for French mothers. From grandparents to the youngest children, everyone gathers around the family dining table for dinner. At the end of the meal a beautiful cake decorated with roses is presented to the mothers attending.

Sweden also celebrates on the last Sunday in May. Shortly before the holiday, the Swedish Red Cross sells single roses on the streets of the community. The money from these "Mother's Flowers" is used to give vacations to mothers with many children.

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