Mother’s Day: Date, Quotes, History, Significance

“A mother understands what a child does not say.” ~ Jewish Proverb

Mothers are a gift of god to every human being. Their care and dedication for the child remain lifelong. The Jewish proverb mentioned above truly justifies the kind of bond mothers share with their children. To celebrate and honor the most deeply bonded human relation between a mother and child, Mother’s Day is celebrated all across the world. Interestingly, there is no specific global day for the same but more than 40 countries celebrate it on the second Sunday of May.

There is an Interesting history behind the mother’s day celebration

Many regions of the world observe mother’s day as a traditional, cultural or religious occasion. However, when it comes to modern day celebrations of mother’s day, the roots can be traced back to the United States in the early 20^th century. In early 20^th century, a peace activist named Ann Reeves Jarvis died. During the American Civil War, Ann Jarvis took care of injured and wounded soldiers on both the sides of war. To address the prevailing public health issues in those trying times, she also created Mother’s Day Work Clubs.

When Ann Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter Anna wanted to honor her mother’s contribution. Thus, she led a campaign for declaration of a specific day as mother’s day to honor the contributions of all mothers. Her proposal was initially not accepted. However, it was certainly Anna’s determination that all U.S. states began to observe mother’s day as a holiday by 1911. In fact some of the states also observed the day officially as a local holiday.

While it was officially recognized in 1911, the very first celebration of Mother’s Day was an initiative by Anna in 1908. Thus, Anna Jarvis is also known as the founder of Mother’s Day. She organized the first Mother’s Day celebrations at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia.

Mother’s Day in Religion

As mentioned earlier, not all regions of the world celebrate mother’s day as per the Gregorian calendar. Many of the regions have followed the tradition of religious celebration. A few of the major religious mother’s day celebrations are mentioned below:

Hindu Tradition

In Nepal, Mother’s Day is celebrated as Mata Tirtha Aunsi. This day is observed on the new moon day in the month Baisakh as per the Hindu Calendar.

Buddhism

A festival called Ullambana is celebrated in honor of mothers. The celebration is inspired by the story of Maudgalyayana and his mother.

Roman Catholics

The Church associates the day with Virgin Mary and the holiday is celebrated in honor of the blessed mother.

Mother’s Day Around the World

Most countries of the world have gone ahead with celebrating Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May following the tradition of the United States. These countries include Australia, Canada, China, Germany, India and Brazil.

Other major days on which some countries observe Mother’s Day are as follows:

• Russia and Vietnam celebrate Mother’s Day on 08 March.
• United Kingdom and Ireland celebrate Mother’s Day on fourth Sunday in Lent.
• Egypt and Saudi Arabia celebrate Mother’s Day on 21 March.
• Portugal and Spain celebrate Mother’s Day on first Sunday of May.
• Sweden and Mauritius celebrate Mother’s Day on last Sunday of May

Best Mother’s Day Quotes

“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” ― Abraham Lincoln

“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” ― Victor Hugo

“It may be possible to gild pure gold, but who can make his mother more beautiful?” ― Mahatma Gandhi

“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” ― Robert Browning

“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” ― William Makepeace Thackeray

“God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers.” ― Rudyard Kipling

“Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves it’s own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.” ― J.K.Rowling

“For when a child is born the mother also is born again.” ― Gilbert Parker