Mother’s Day is an ancient tradition that has been recognized globally for many centuries. There are historical records that prove the celebration of this special day as far back as early Egyptian times with Isis – who became known and celebrated as the Mother of the Pharaohs. The Romans’ Mother’s Day celebrated the Phrygian goddess Cybele – commonly referred to as the “Magna Mater” (Great Mother).
In the 17th century England began celebrating this special day.England began their tradition in the 1600’s. They called this day “Mothering Sunday”, a day that was celebrated during Lent. Everyone was encouraged to visit their mothers on this day, even servants.
Recognition of a mother’s day came much later in the United States. The first recorded celebration in America was actually a protest. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe gathered Mothers together in order to celebrate peace and motherhood. This was a result of the anguish she felt when viewing sons killing other sons during the Civil War.
In 1908, Ana Jarvis made attempts at creating a National Mother’s Day, which would be in recognition of the anniversary of her Mother’s death. Her first effort was made in 1907 when she gave each Mother of the church her own Mother taught Sunday school for, a white carnation. There were total of five hundred carnations passed out. The memorial service was held at her Mother’s church on May 10, 1908. From there Ana would trademark “Mother’s Day” and “second Sunday in May”.
Today, much of these traditions continue. We still celebrate our Mothers on the second Sunday of May – staying true to the celebration Ana Jarvis began. We also often present our mothers with gifts of flowers. Even the tradition of decorating our Mother is continued. The goddess Isis was typically seen sitting on throne wearing a crown made of two horns. The horns were guardians of a fiery sun orb. This is the one day per year that we shower our Mothers with gifts – most commonly rings, earrings, and necklaces, that will only compliment her beauty further, just Ana Jarvis did so in remembrance of her Mother, and the people of Egypt honored Isis.
Specially designed jewelry for mothers is a wonderful way to celebrate the special mothers in our lives and show them how much we appreciate what they have done for us throughout our lives. There is now a wide variety of personalized jewelry available for mother’s and grandmothers that carry the name, birthstone, or birth dates of their children and grandchildren. In the US rings for mothers are now the most popular mother’s gift. Our mothers and grandmothers have a job that they will never retire from . They deserve recognition and to know how much we appreciate them.
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