Mother's Day

May 13 is Mother's Day this year and it is also Bill's birthday. I was wondering how Mother's Day became a National Holiday and why we celebrated on the second Sunday in May. What I found after a little research I thought interesting enough to share with my blog readers.
Printed in the Garland Morning News Sunday. May 2, 2004.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday," on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40-day period leading up to Easter). "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time, many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants lived at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants had the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity continued to evolve throughout Europe, the celebration changed to the"Mother Church"- the spiritual power that gave the people life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States, Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the "Battle Hymn of Republic," as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe began holding organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston every year.

In 1907, Ana Jarvis of Philadelphis began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Va., to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the second Sunday of May. By the next year, Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia. Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful, and by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday that was to be held each year on the second Sunday of May.
While many countries celebrate their own Mother's Days at different times throughout the year, some countries, like Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium, also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

A Mother's Love
A mother's love is something
that no one can explain.
It is made of deep devotion,
and of sacrifice and pain.
It is endless and unselfish,
and enduring, come what may,
For nothing can destroy it,
or take that love away.
It is patient and forgiving
When all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters
Even though the heart is breaking.
It believes beyond believing
When the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty
Of the rarest, brightest gems.
It is far beyond defining,
It defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret
Like the mysteries of creation.
A many-splendored miracle
We cannot understand,
And another wondrous evidence
Of God's tender, guiding hand.