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Mother's Day
 Mother's Day is a day honoring mothers, celebrated
on various days in many places around the world. Mothers often receive gifts on
this day.
History
Different countries celebrate Mother's Day on various days of the year because
the day has a number of different origins. One school of thought claims this day
emerged from a custom of mother worship in ancient Greece, which kept a festival
to Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. This festival was held around the
Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor and eventually in Rome itself from the Ides of
March (15 March) to 18 March. The ancient Romans also had another holiday,
Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts
on this day. In some countries the Mother's Day began not as a celebration for
individual mothers but rather for Christians.
Mothering Sunday in Ireland & Britian
Mothering Sunday, commonly called "Mothers' Day" in the United Kingdom and
Ireland, has no direct connection to the American practice. It falls on the
fourth Sunday of Lent (exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday). It is believed
to have originated from the 16th century Christian practice of visiting one's
mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with
their children on this day. Most historians believe that young apprentices and
young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to
visit their families.[1] As a result of secularization, it is now principally
used to celebrate and give thanks for mothers, although it is still recognized
in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother
of Jesus as well as the traditional concept 'Mother Church'.
Mother's Day in the United States
The United States celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In the
United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British day and was
imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War.
However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she
wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe
failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her
idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting
in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers'
Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better
sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile
Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary
to plant tomatoes outdoors after Mother's Day (and not before).
When Jarvis died in 1907, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade
to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in
Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May, 1908, in the church where the elder Ann
Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International
Mother's Day Shrine. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to
45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912.
In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a
day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons
had died in war (with specific reference to The Great War).
Nine years after the first official Mother's Day, commercialization of the U.S.
holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of
what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the
most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National
Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to
dine out at a restaurant in the United States.
Mother's Day in various parts of the world
In most countries, Mother's Day is a new concept copied from western
civilization. In many African countries, the idea of one Mother's Day has its
origins in copying the British concept, although there are many festivals and
events celebrating mothers within the many diverse cultures on the African
continent that have been there centuries before the colonials arrived. In most
of East Asia, Mother's Day is a heavily marketed and commercialized concept
copied straight from Mother's Day in the USA.
Mother's Day is celebrated on different days throughout the world. Examining the
trends in Google searches for the term "mother's day" shows two major blips, the
smaller one on the fourth Sunday in Lentit is also called ladies day and women's
day, and the larger one on the second Sunday in May.
The 12 August is Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's birthday. This public holiday is
celebrated nationwide as Mother's Day. The Queen is considered as the mother of
all Thai people.
Starting a few weeks before the Queen's birthday, all buildings are covered up
with Royal symbols and portraits of Her Majesty all over the Thai kingdom.
Born in 1932, Her Majesty the Queen has captured
the hearts of the Thai people through her devotion to improving the welfare and
well-being of her subjects. The Queen is also known for her efforts in reviving
Thailand's folk arts and crafts. Her Majesty's SUPPORT Foundation (Foundation
for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques) has been
established in 1976 to include craft shops in the city and popular tourist
areas. It also includes tw o Thai Folk Arts and Crafts Training Centers at
Chitralada Villa and at Bangsai in Ayutthaya.
Every year in August, huge portraits of Her Majesty are raised in temples,
administrative buildings, schools, houses, shops by individual people and
organizations.
Despite her high office as Queen of the nation, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit is a
mother highly regarded by her children. She brought them up in the mold of
traditional Thai values in which the junior pay respect to the elder, obey their
seniors and learn to be self-sufficient. The benevolence of Her Majesty the
Queen praised by her subjects explains the love she has earned from her people
who regard her as Mother of the Nation.
On 12 August, jasmine, symbolic of the selfless
virtue of a mother who gives life to her children, is seen everywhere in
Thailand. Charitable activities, food offering to monks and donations are part
of the events of the day to express children's gratitiude to every mother.
National flags decorate buildings to wish Her Majesty many happy returns of the
day and a long life
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