History of Mother's Day

The run up to Mother’s Day is always a busy time at Kate’s, so we thought we’d have a look at why it’s been celebrated over the years?

Mother’s Day in Ancient Greece

We’ve managed to trace the origins of Mother’s Day all the way the back to 1650 BC and the ancient Greek Festival dedicated to Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.  According to Greek mythology Rhea was the Mother of Zeus, the God of the sky, and a pretty powerful one at that ruling over all of the other Olympian Gods. Zeus was especially close to his Mother who had saved him from being swallowed, as his brothers and sisters were, by his Father Cronus.  Cronus lived in fear of being overthrown by his Children, as he had overthrown his own Father, Uranus, by castrating him.  A Mother’s love is a powerful thing, and super mum Rhea managed to save Zeus from Cronus by hiding him in a cave.   Just imagine the gifts Zeus would have conjured up for his Mother Rhea to mark the day she saved him from his nasty Dad.  Well, we do know actually.  When Zeus grew up he repaid his Mother by forcing Cronus to disgorge his brothers and sisters and return them to their Mother. The ancient Greeks truly honoured Rhea for her act of courage in saving Zeus which is probably where early Mother’s Day all started.

Interesting Fact | Zeus was born in what is now the popular holiday destination of Crete

Did the Ancient Romans and European Celts celebrate Mother’s Day?

The Roman ancients liked their Gods as well and Romans were given a holiday in March to celebrate Mother Goddess Cybele.  The ancient Celts of Europe too had their own goddess St. Brigid, who is believed to represent a spring Mother's Day, a celebration probably connected with the first milk of the ewes, but enough of the ancients...

Mother’s Day, Christianity and the Mother of God

Nearer to home the phrase Mothering Sunday was first coined by the Tudors in the 1600s and for Christians Mothering Sunday was always the fourth Sunday of Lent which is why, incidentally, the Sunday Mother’s Day is celebrated changes every year. Originally, as Christianity spread throughout Europe, the celebration honoured the "Mother Church" but now the focus is on the Mother only.  In Catholicism special importance is placed on the Mother, as Mary, is believed to be the Mother of God, so maybe that’s another reason why we celebrate Mother’s Day.

Interesting Fact | Mother’s Day in the UK is always celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent 

 

How did the Victorians celebrate Mother’s Day?

Moving on to Victorian Britain traditionally Mothering Sunday was a day when servants spent  some time with family and their masters encouraged them to return home to celebrate.  At this time, gifts typically included a Mothering Cake called Furmenty.  This special celebration cake for Mum was made with wheat, milk, sugar and spices.  The further North you travelled Mum’s might have been treated to more of a pancake than a cake. These Mother’s Day pancakes were called Carling in Scotland. The Mouth watering treats for Mum were lovingly prepared with steeped peas, fried in butter and a dash of salt ‘n’ pepper – scrummy.

Interesting Fact | The England rugby star Will Carling shares his name with a Scottish Mother’s Day speciality pancake

The origins of modern day Mother’s Day

The Mother’s Day we all love today originated in the US and was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis, the daughter of the women’s rights campaigner Ann Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia.  Ann Jarvis founded Mother's Day Work Clubs for Mum’s in America and strived hard to improve their conditions at work.  After Ann died her daughter Anna campaigned to make Mother's Day a recognised holiday.  In 1914 the modern day Mother’s Day was born and the giving of printed cards has continued to this day.

Interesting Fact | After her Mother died Anna Jarvis pledged to dedicate her life to establish a Mother's Day to honour her, but had no children of her own.

When is Mother’s Day celebrated in the country where you live?

Mother’s day is now celebrated all over the World, but curiously, not all celebrate with Mum at the same time.  Here’s the dates Mother’s Day is celebrated where you are in 2015:

8th February - Norway (The 2nd Sunday in February)
3rd March - Georgia
8th March - Afghanistan , Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Laos, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine
15th March - United Kingdom, Ireland, Nigeria, Bangladesh (The 4th Sunday of Lent)
21st March - Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestinian Territories, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen - (Coincides with the Vernal or Spring Equinox)
25th March - Slovenia
7th April - Armenia
3rd May - Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Mozambique  (The 1st Sunday in May)
8th May - South Korea (Known as Parent's Day)
10th May - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Belize
10th May - Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaasao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe  (The 2nd Sunday in May)
15th May - Paraguay
26th May - Poland
30th May - Nicaragua
31st May - Algeria, Dominican Republic, France, Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia (The last Sunday in May)
1st June - Mongolia
14th June - Luxembourg (The 2nd Sunday in June)
28th June - Kenya, Kurdistan (The last Sunday in June)
12th August - Thailand
15th August - Costa Rica, Antwerp (Belgium)
12th October - Malawi (The 2nd Monday in October)
14th October - Belarus
18th October - Argentina (The 3rd Sunday in October)
29th November - Russia (The last Sunday in November)
8th December - Panamá
22th December - Indonesia

So why does Mother ’s Day mean so much to us?

Kate Malt, at Love Kate’s says:

"Busy 21st century Mums like me look forward all year to being spoiled on Mother's Day.  We love getting special cards and gifts from our children as well as a cup of tea in bed and a day off the chores.  Mums might even be in control of the TV remote for an afternoon too...  Mothering Sunday, despite being the busiest time of year after Christmas at Love Kate’s, is a really special time for me as my daughter Georgia was actually born on Mother’s Day."

Kate would love to know why Mother’s Day’s is special to you.  Please leave a comment below before you go...

Interesting Fact | Kate’s daughter Georgia was born on Mother's Day

So, there it is, our short History of Mother’s Day.  However you celebrate with Mum this year and wherever you are, we hope you have a really lovely day; and don’t worry if you can’t stretch to the gifts lavished on the Mother of the Greek Gods, (What precisely would today’s busy Mum do with Neptune anyway?) Your lovely Mum’ll be happy we’re sure with a thoughtful little card, a nice cup of tea in bed and most of all, a great big cuddle on Mother’s Day.

Useful Links 

Check which Sunday is Mother’s Day next year

Mother’s Day dates around the World

 

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