Parenta Magazine March 2020

Mother’s Day
Mother’s - where Day did it – all where begin?
Mother’s Day
did
(also known
it all
as Mothering
begin?
Sunday) is a celebration honouring the mother
of the family, as well as motherhood as a whole. It’s an annual event when members of
the family show their gratitude and love for their mothers, as well as the role that other
maternal figures, such as mothers-in-law and grandmothers, hold in family life.
When does Mother’s Day
take place?
The actual date of Mother’s Day in the
UK is not fixed each year. It always
falls exactly three weeks before Easter
Sunday, which itself changes yearly,
depending on the date of the full moon.
Around the world, it falls on different
days. In many countries - USA, Canada,
most European countries, Australia,
New Zealand, India, China, Japan, the
Philippines and South Africa, it is held
on the second Sunday in May. In 2020,
the UK will celebrate Mother’s Day on
Sunday 22nd March.
How did it all start?
The stories of how it began vary,
depending on whether you’re in the
UK or the USA. In the UK, Mother’s Day
was originally a day where domestic
servants were given the day off to
visit their “mother” church. These
servants would typically return to their
hometown and worship in church with
their families. On the way home, it was
common for people to pick wild flowers
to give to their mothers. This was
around the 17th century.
In America, the story of its origin is
very different. The day of celebration
stemmed from a lady called Anna
Jarvis, who held a memorial service for
her mother in Grafton, West Virginia.
She gave away carnations, her mother’s
favourite flower, to all who attended the
service. Red and pink carnations were
given to those with living mothers and
white for those whose mothers had
passed away. Anna wanted everyone
to attend church, and afterwards, for
children to write a note of appreciation
to their mothers.
It had been Anna’s late
mother’s wish that a Mother’s
Day would take place,
and this is something that
she had even prayed for.
Following her mother’s death
in 1905, Anna took steps to
ensure this would happen.
Creating a legacy
for mothers
everywhere
As part of her late mother’s
wishes, Anna campaigned to
make Mother’s Day a recognised
holiday in the US in 1905. The very
first Mother’s Day in America
was celebrated in 1908 and,
just three years later, all
US states had started to
observe the holiday. Whilst Anna
Jarvis was successful in realising her
mother’s dream, she was resentful of
how commercialised the day quickly
became. By 1920, card companies such
as Hallmark had started making massproduced
Mother’s Day cards. Anna
argued that people should honour their
mothers through handwritten letters,
instead of buying pre-made cards.
Today, people choose to celebrate
this day in a way which is personal
for them. It may be that they buy their
mother a bunch of flowers and a card,
go for afternoon tea, or just choose to
spend quality time together.
Did you know… it’s estimated that, as
a nation, British consumers will spend
£1.4 billion on Mother’s Day cards,
flowers, gifts and other treats?
However, you really don’t have to spend
money to show your appreciation.
Making a home-made card using the
card from an empty cereal packet or old
greetings cards and covering with left
over tissue or wrapping paper or even
flowers from the garden are just as
effective and will mean a lot, knowing
that so much effort has gone into it!
Handprint (or even footprint!) cards
are also fun (not to mention messy!) to
make and are so personal too – a firm
favourite with the children!
We have the most delightful
Mother’s Day craft on the next
page for you to make
with the little ones in your
setting that will be sure
to make mothers’ hearts
melt!
parenta.com | March 2020 23