Mother’s Day is one day of the year when we send gifts and thanks to our mothers for everything they have done for us. It runs in conjunction with Father’s Day. Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries across the globe and is commonly held in March or May.
This Sunday the United States of America, along with many other countries will be celebrating this significant event. Mother’s Day celebrations began in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. It is not connected with the celebrations of motherhood throughout the world over thousands of years. Despite this Mother’s Day in many countries has become synonymous to these older traditions.
As the American holiday was beginning to be celebrated in other countries the countries selected a date that was already of significance. For example Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom was selected to take place on Mothering Sunday which is a separate event altogether. In the South American country of Bolivia Mother’s Day was selected to take place on an anniversary of a past battle in which women participated in. Many countries around the world pick a date which is significant in their country but the reason we celebrate the day is the same in all these countries.
Modern day Mother’s Day first took place in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. After this celebration she campaigned to make Mother’s Day a national holiday and she was finally successful in 1914 before the start of the First World War. Even though she was happy at the day becoming a national holiday she was disappointed that by the 1920s the holiday had become to commercialised.
Wherever you live or whenever you celebrate this amazing event make sure that you show thanks to your mother for the wonderful life she has given to you.