International Mother’s Day 2019 falls on Sunday, May 12 this year. It is a celebration of motherhood and maternal bonds. In most countries, the second Sunday of May is celebrated as Mother’s Day every year.
History of Mother’s Day:
The modern Mother’s Day was first celebrated in the United States when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia in the year 1908. St Andrew’s Methodist Church now holds the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
Anna Jarvis was a peace activist who worked towards educating mothers on how to take proper care of their children before the American Civil War. She formed a club known as the ‘Mother’s Day Working Club’ which grew further as a united entity even during the Civil War.
After her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis though of celebrating Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. She resolved to add this as a formal holiday to the national calendar, however by the year 1920 she was disgusted by the commercialisation of the occasion.
In her last years, Jarvis had disowned the holiday. By 1948 she had actively started lobbying the government to remove it from the American calendar.
Early celebrations of Mother’s Day can be dated back to ancient Greeks and Romans who honoured mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.
The modern Mother’s Day
Over 40 countries celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May every year. About 20 countries including Russia. Afghanistan, Vietnam celebrate it on March 8 along with International Women’s Day. The United Kingdom. Ireland and a few more countries celebrate it on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. A lot of Middle Eastern countries celebrate the Spring Equinox as Mother’s Day.
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