Today is Mother's Day

lucy_zq2002UID: 177408

The Story of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter*), "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the 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.


As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, 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, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

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.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

[ Last edited by lucy_zq2002 on 2005-5-8 at 12:19 ]

lucy_zq2002UID: 177408

妈妈说过,不管自己孩子怎样说错话,顶撞大人,父母亲都不会往心里去的.
愿妈妈快乐!

upstudioUID: 124777

nod, 今天买化的人好多,还要排队
祝妈妈快乐,身体健康!

lucy_zq2002UID: 177408

偶至今没搞懂,似乎upstudio是考了托福又来雅思?是首席斑竹,又常常光临寒舍,也不多做贡献的诺:)

upstudioUID: 124777

我是考了gre考ielts的
不过我单词背得不牢靠,忘得差不多了.
我是影音版的斑竹,在这里还是你们厉害,我只有学习的份,等我考完,如果有比较满意的分数来证明我的学习方法也是可行的话.我一定多发点帖子.
现在你要多指点我才行啊:)