Mother's Day

We read of celebration of Mothers Day as a pagan festivity since ancient times to sing the glory of Rhea the mother of Gods in ancient Greece.

by Pradip Kumar Dutta

Mother's Day is a comparatively new celebration in our Indian subcontinent. Well,I am 70 years of age now and in our childhood we never knew about the existence of such a day, leave alone celebrating it. The Day has been designated to honour Mothers and show love and respect to them for the unique bondage between her and her children and the selfless sacrifice and dedication that we find in Mothers to bring their children up as worthy human beings. The Day has got deep significance in celebrating the Mothers who go through a difficult and gruesome period of pregnancy to bring their offsprings to life,breastfeeds them to bring them up as healthy babies in their early childhood,tends to their health and wellbeing,teaches them in the early days of their education,makes them aware of dos and don't s of life and offers them endless love and motherly care as long as they are alive. The day celebrates Motherhood.

We read of celebration of Mothers Day as a pagan festivity since ancient times to sing the glory of Rhea the mother of Gods in ancient Greece. In Christianity different denomination of Christians celebrate Mother's Day on different dates relating the days to religious events centering reverence to Mother Mary. In Buddhism and Hinduism we find reference of celebrating Mother as a form of power of God.Islam says that heaven is at the feet of your Mother. 

In modern times Mother's Day is being observed and celebrated widely around the globe on a particular day albeit some countries have their own designated dates for the same. Those dates relate to religious and traditional events in their respective regions.

On this day people of all ages wish their Mother,present them with gifts,arrange special dinner and festivities at home and often take Mothers out to concerts and celebratory dinners. Presenting carnation flowers has become a symbol of the day. Those children who are away from their mothers send beautiful cards and order online cakes,presents and flowers including carnations. Its a pity that in our days we did not know about this day and now I repent that I could never say thank you to my mother for everything she did for me and my siblings. Of course,in our region many people think that every day is a Mother's day and you should be grateful to your Mother and show that reverence to her through your deeds and behaviour everyday. Nothing will please her more than seeing her son or daughter as a good human being successful in professional life. Your happiness is her happiness.

In modern days most of the countries celebrate Mother's Day on the 2nd sunday of May. This refers to the adoption of this day as a national holiday and it's official recognition in the United States by a 1914 decree of President Woodrow Wilson. The name of a lady from West Virginia Ms Anne Jarvis comes to the forefront when we dig the history of the day. She held a memorial service in honour of her mother Ann Reeves Jarvis in Andrew's Methodist Eposcopical Church at a small city named Grafton in West Virginia,where her Mom used to go for prayers. It was in May 1907. She organised groups of lady activists to promote the day as a tribute to her mother and all Mother's of the world and dedicate this day to build social awareness towards friendship,sanitation/ hygiene and world peace which were the moto of Ann Jarvis and her associates. Ann Jarvis had been working to instill awareness of friendship and peace when she and her friends worked to help treat injured on both the sides during the American Civil War. Ann's friend Julia Howe was particularly interested in uniting the Mothers to raise voice against armed solutions to disputes. Rather they tried to propagate the idea of Peace and resolution of all disputes through negotiations. They did not want their sons to die in wars. Besides they were interested in resolving health and sanitation issues. These group of ladies with noble thoughts spread their ideas through small groups or associations in small cities across the United States. When Ann Jarvis expired in 1905 her daughter desired to carry the batton forward and organised the first memorial service in Grafton. Her untiring efforts started seeing success. Some of the US states started recognising the day until the final success came in 1914 through a proclamation of a Federal recognition of the 2nd Sunday of May as the day to celebrate Mother's Day. The Andrew's Church has now become the International Mother's Day Shrine. 

After that,there was no looking back. The noble idea of observing this unique day to recognise and honour Mothers for their sacrifice,efforts and labour towards their children started spreading and has engulfed the whole world. In the recent years the Day has become more popular and the celebrations have become more widespread thanks to the social media and online propagation. 

We observe with concern that too much of commercialisation of the Day may ruin it's significance. Anne Jarvis,the proponent of the Day herself was against this commercialisation. At some point of time she opposed this commercialism. Her resentment was to such level that once she remarked that one should wish his/her mother with handwritten cards or letters than buying an expensive commercial card for the Mother. We subscribe to this idea and are confident that your own cooked three course dinner for your mother will please her more than a seven course restaurant extravaganza.

Let's wish all the Mothers of the world a Happy Mother's Day and wish them good health,happiness and peace of mind. 

One should never think of paying back to the Mother for whatever she did to raise him/her. No return will ever be sufficient. She will be most happy to see her son/daughter as a good human being successful in life and profession.