Mother’s Day
Then & Now
D
o you have any idea just
how this venerable day
came into existence in
the United States? How
far back in history the
roots of Mother’s Day
celeb r a tion can be traced? Well,
neither did I!
So, I decided to see what I could
learn about this currently popular holiday. The
journey, while not too involved, was a fascinating
one for me, to be sure.
hand, important but controversial political
activism and on the other, the warm traditional circle of timeless values embodied in
the home, with motherhood, as its traditional anchor.
Did you hear that two different historical threads
lay claim to its origins in
the United States. Both
are factually based. Both
founded by three women,
two of them mothers and
the other childless. There
combined efforts forming a tribute to different roles that, in a way, create a simple mosaic of dominant, but not necessarily conflicting, ideals of the time, as you will see.
All speak of courage and devotion.
During the 1600’s, the early Christians in England officially celebrated a day
to honor Mary, the Mother
of Jesus. By a subsequent
religious decree from the
Church, the holiday was later expanded in its scope to
include all mothers. It was celebrated on the
4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), “Mothering Sunday” and
officially honored all the mothers of England,
which was most likely an unofficial practice
long antecedent to this ‘Official Decree’.
These divergent histories celebrate, on one
6| April-May