Five Facts for Mother's Day
Victorian Mother's Day postcard
Five Facts for Mother's Day
For many of us, Mother’s Day is a very special day, filled with love and increasingly with poignancy as we remember a mother no longer with us.
As children we always made a huge fuss of my mother, starting with breakfast in bed and my children have continued this family tradition. We would save our pocket money and buy her something really special, often a little vintage painting that she had her eye on.
Do you know where the tradition of Mother’s Day actually comes from? Today it has become yet another commercial pressure but unlike lots of “Days’ its roots go back a long way.
Mother’s Day in Ancient Times
Rhea riding a lion, Athenian red-figure vase fragment, late 5th Century BC, Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
In Ancient Greece, Rhea, the mother of the gods, was honoured in a spring festival filled with feasts and offerings. The Romans had a similar celebration called Hilaria, dedicated to Cybele, another maternal goddess. It involved parades, sacrifices, and general revelry.
Mother’s Day in Christian Times
A section of a stained glass window by AJ Davies in the Thurlestone Church of All Saints, Devon.
As Christianity spread through Europe, a tradition known as Mothering Sunday developed. Falling on the fourth Sunday of Lent, it was originally a day when people returned to their “mother church” (the main church in their area) but eventually evolved into a day to appreciate mothers themselves.
Modern Mother’s Day
A portrait of Ann Jarvis on the program for the first official Mother’s Day service, in May 1908. (West Virginia and Regional History Center, WVU Libraries).
Today’s Mother’s Day owes much to the efforts of one determined American woman, Anna Jarvis who in 1908 held a memorial for her late mother in West Virginia. Her mother had been a social activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War. Anna campaigned to establish a national day to honour mothers. In 1914, her efforts paid off when President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in the United States.
Jarvis herself became became disillusioned with the holiday’s growing commercialisation as florists, greeting card companies, and confectioners jumped on the bandwagon. She spent much of her later life protesting against what she saw as the corruption of her original vision, even attempting legal action against profiteers.
International Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is celebrated in over 50 countries around the world. While the American version of Mother’s Day is widely recognised, different cultures celebrate in their own way. In the UK & Ireland Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Traditionally mothers were given posies of daffodils as they left church.
'Daffodils and Tulips in a Glass Vase', signed Bertil Gadö, 1916-2014, dated '47. Available at Collins & Green Art, please click on the image for more information.
In France la Fête des Mères takes place in late May or early June, celebrated with cakes shaped like flowers. (My mother was French and craftily used to double up with both the English and French celebrations.) In Japan the day is marked by giving red carnations.
'Red and Pink Carnations', signed A. Rulat, oil on board in a vintage wood frame. Available at Collins & Green Art, please click on the image for more information.
Surprising Facts about Mother’s Day
It is the busiest day for eating out in the UK; mothers still seem to do most of the cooking so this is a nice treat. It is also the biggest flower buying day of the year with carnations typically associated with the day. (If my children are reading this please choose something else!) In the UK around 30 million Mother’s Day cards are sent each year.
'La Petite', signed Hilding Rösiö, 1902-1985. Available at Collins & Green Art, click on the image above for more information.
Final Thoughts
'Daffodils and Pears', signed Gillis Magnusson, dated 1989. Available at Collins & Green Art, please click the image above for more information.
The essence of Mother’s Day remains the same around the world. It’s a day to show love and gratitude to the women who have given us so much. Whether it’s a simple handwritten note, a home-cooked meal, a beautiful vintage painting or botanical print or just a heartfelt conversation and a bit of time Mother’s Day is a very special celebration.
