“Happy Mother’s Day”

The modern Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis as a day for each family to honor its mother and it’s now celebrated on various days in many places around the world.

This holiday is relatively modern, being created at the start of the 20th century, and should not be confused with the early pagan and Christian traditions honoring mothers or with the 16th century celebration of Mothering Sunday, which is also known as Mother’s Day in the UK.

The second Sunday in May is observed as Mother’s Day in most countries of the world. But it was not always so. Not very long ago, a festival called ‘Mothering Sunday’ or ‘Mid-Lent Sunday’ was celebrated in England on the fourth Sunday in Lent. The celebrations were surprisingly similar to the modern way of celebrating Mother’s Day.

The First Mother’s Day, as we know it now days, was observed on May 10, 1908, in a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The celebrations involved a church service in honour of Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, mother of Anna Jarvis.

Four years later, the Mother’s Day International Association was created, on December 12, 1912, to spread the concept and practice of observing Mother’s Day. The very next year, in May 1913, the House of Representatives of the US government adopted a resolution requesting the President, his Cabinet, members of Congress, and all officials of the federal government to wear a white carnation on Mother’s Day.

And finally, on May 8, 1914, the Congress passed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day in India: The practice of celebrating the Mother is not alien to India. The more personal festival of ‘Mother’s Day’ has also come to become a part of their culture now. What it offers is an opportunity to honor and show our appreciations for our flesh and blood mother – the one person who has stood by us through sorrows and joys.