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Did you know that some of the earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods? Later, sometime during the 1600's, England celebrated a day called 'Mothering Sunday' which was celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), during which time, they honoured the mothers of England. Many poor people in England worked as servants in the homes of the wealthy - and as most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. Once a year, these servants would have 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. Later, with the spread of Christianity, the idea changed to honour the 'Mother Church' - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. This, in turn, blended with the Mothering Sunday celebrations. People began honouring their mothers as well as the church. In the United States, Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. She held Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts ever year. Later in 1907 Ana Jarvis, a woman from Philadelphia began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, which fell on the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year, Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia. After this, Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May. And that's how it remains to this day - the second Sunday in May is celebrated as Mother's day all over the world.
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