This Holidays

Writen by Jennifer Bailey

Mother's Day is believed to have its origins in the annual spring festival celebrated in Ancient Greece to pay tributes to Rhea, the wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities. One and a half centuries ago, in the United States, the foundation stone of this festival was laid by an Appalachian homemaker named Anna Jarvis.

Mother's Day has changed drastically in its basic conception and form. None of the above mentioned festivals were meant to express love and gratitude to the immediate mother. Anna Jarvis wanted the women in her community to help her raise concern about the poor sanitary conditions of the community. She felt that mothers were the most affected members of the community because of the concern they had for their children's health. Her efforts led to the conception of the Mother's Work Day.

Anna Jarvis's daughter, of the same name, campaigned for the celebration of a day especially meant to express love and honor to our mothers. Anna Jarvis's daughter could be called the real founder of Mother's Day in the United States, as she worked relentlessly to promote the celebration of Mother's Day. Behind it all was her extreme love and devotion to her own mother. Her efforts were rewarded in 1908 when she celebrated the memory of her mother at a local church; she handed out the white carnation at this service. It was her mother's favorite flower. The real reward came in 1914 when mother's day was officially recognized and a holiday declared to celebrate this festival.

Despite the misgivings of the founder, in her later years, about Mother's Day becoming too commercialized in its practice, Mother's Day flourished in various parts of the world, especially in the United States. In its present form, Mother's Day is celebrated as a festival when we express our love for our mothers by presenting them with gifts in the form of cards, flowers, crafts, jewelry and a variety of other gifts. Celebrated on the second Sunday of May, this festival is the most popular way of showing your mother that you care and appreciate all that she has ever done for you.