Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day celebrates and honors motherhood and mothers – their kindness, their love and their impact on our everyday lives and society. Maternal bonds are said to be the strongest bond in our lives, and, truly, the role of a mother cannot be underestimated. It is our mother who has given us the most precious gift of all - our life.

   It is celebrated either in March or in May, but it is not an official holiday. It is a part of a series of holidays celebrating each family member – the day of Siblings, Father’s Day and Grandparent’s day. During ancient times, there were similar celebrations, e.g. the Greek cult of Cybele, Roman festival of Hilaria and Christian Mothering Sunday celebrations. The modern celebration of mothers through Monther’s Day arose relatively recently. Observed worldwide, it doesn’t have ancient roots. It was established by Anna Jarvis in 1914, originally as an anti-war statement. Anna Jarvis later criticized the current excessive commercialization of this celebration. The biggest symbol of this holiday is Anna’s mother’s favorite flowers –white carnations, which, arguably, have maintained their status as the only canonical tradition of this celebration, as Anna disapproved of expensive gifts and commercialization. Nevertheless, we also present our mothers with candies, toys, tickets to their favorite events and places, or gift them perfumes and gift cards.

 Various countries and cultures assign different meanings to this holiday, associating it with different events (religious, historical or legendary), and celebrating it on different dates. Cultures that had already existing celebrations of honoring motherhood came to incorporate characteristics from the American Mother’s Day holiday, such as giving carnations and other presents to mothers. This is also one of the most profitable holidays from the retail perspective, which helps to explain the rapid universal spread of its traditions. The extent of the celebrations varies greatly. In some countries, it is potentially offensive to one's mother not to mark Mother's Day. In others, it is a little-known festival celebrated mainly by immigrants, or covered by the media as a taste of foreign culture. For example, the symbol of this day in the France is croissant. Fathers are expected to buy one for their beloved wives who are the current or potential mothers of their children. In Ethiopia, a special meal is prepared for this celebration, where men and women contribute their pre-assigned ingredients: women bring species , cheese, butter and vegetables; and men bring a bull or lamb for meat. In Russia, family members congratulate their mothers with sentimental handcrafted gifts.

   Mother’s Day is a special day. Regardless of whether you consider it too commercialized or not, it always makes the world around us feel a little warmer. But what really matters is to genuinely care for one’s mother. One thing must always be remembered, especially when it comes to mothers - love is not limited to a date, it is timeless and is always present. Do something special for your loved ones on a random day, and it will be remembered just as fondly, if not more.