100

2014 was the year when ‘Mother’s Day’ officially turned 100 years from when it was first celebrated in the USA in 1904. The day has not lost significance yet, and it would be a matter of pride to Anna Jarvis, the American woman who spent her life to ensure that ‘Mother’s Day’ was honoured as a national holiday.

The story of Anna Jarvis and her struggle is a well-known one. When she thought she had established a tradition of honouring mothers, she realised that the occasion had been commercialised and companies were making money from it. And it was back to the struggle for her to try and tell people that genuine love for the mothers of their family was what this day was about, not store bought cards and flowers! A century later, the day has been recognized across the world, with most countries celebrating it on the second Sunday of May. Some countries such as Thailand and Japan align Mother’s Day with the birthday of their Queens. In Mexico, a special mass is held in churches and an orchestra plays music for mothers! If you were in the UK on Mother’s Day, you would just have to sample the traditional ‘mothering cake’ or Simnel cake.

Mother’s Day has both contemporary and historic meanings attached to it. In the middle of busy, commercial lives, we forget our traditional Indian values that have highlighted the importance of the ‘mother’. The mother has always been ‘divine’ in India – represented by the Goddess or the mother cow Kamadhenu. Other countries too have traditions worshipping their mothers; in Egypt, the mother Goddesses Rhea and Cybele have been worshipped in ancient times; in Ethiopia, families have had a tradition of feasting on Antrosht, their version of Mother’s day.

Some may wonder why the fuss over this day, the answer would be Anna Jarvis’ quote, “(she is)....the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”. The mother’s job is the toughest. She is the first teacher of the child, the person that it first comes in contact with in the world. It is no wonder that Indians teach their children the adage ‘Maatha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam’. The significance being, our journey into this world starts with the mother and hence she is deemed most important.

Some mighty trivia on Moms

- In China, family names often begin with the symbol that means ‘mother’, thereby honouring their mothers.

- In a majority of languages, the word for mother begins with the alphabet ‘M’. Indeed, Mighty Mom’s day!

- It is believed that when Mother Mary saw her son Jesus Christ suffering, she shed tears.

The tears when they hit the ground turned into carnations. Carnations are worn on Mother’s Day – red and pink for living mothers and white representing deceased mothers.