母親節的由來

The history of Mother’s Day

母親永遠是我心靈的港灣，您的愛是崇高的愛，只是給予，不求索取，不溯既往，不討恩情。

The history of Mother’s Day

The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations are 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 . “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 as a day dedicated to peace.

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, by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow

Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother’s Day 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.

Richer Than Gold

Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954)I had a mother who read me things .That wholesome life to the boy heart brings .Stories that stir with an upward touch,Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold,Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.Richer than I you can never be .I had a mother who read to me.

母親節(Mother’s Day)，作為一個感謝母親的節日，節日起源于古希臘。在這一天，古希臘人向希臘眾神之母希布莉(Cybele，宙斯、波塞冬、哈德斯、得墨忒耳、赫拉和赫斯提亞的母親，故稱眾神之母)致敬。到古羅馬時，這些活動的規模就變得更大，慶祝盛況往往持續達三天之久。

當然，古時人們對女神的崇拜只不過是一種迷信，它同今天人們對母性的尊敬是大不相同的。在17世紀中葉，母親節流傳到英國，英國人把封齋期的第四個星期天作為母親節。在這一天里，出門在外的年輕人將回到家中，給他們的母親帶上一些小禮物。母親節是在中國港澳臺地區流行起來之后才進入大陸的，名貴的珠寶，象征母愛的康乃馨，特制的愛心甜點，精致的手工賀卡等，成為人們向母親敬獻愛意的禮物。

20世紀80年代，母親節逐漸被中國內地的民眾所接受。從1988年開始，中國南方的廣州等一些城市開始舉辦母親節的慶祝活動，并把評選“好母親”作為內容之一。20世紀末,隨著中國與國際的日益接軌，母親節這一節日在中國大陸各地日益推廣開來，越來越多的人開始接受母親節概念，在每年5月的第二個星期日，中國人和全世界其他國家的人們一道以各種各樣的方式表達對母親養育之恩的感謝。當然，中國人的母親節更有中國味道。

中國人以自己特有的方式表達濃濃的親情，在母親節這一天，人們會送給母親鮮花,蛋糕,親手烹制的飯菜等等禮物。從小就孝敬父母的中國兒童會嘗試著為母親做飯，洗臉，化妝，演奏音樂，繪制圖畫，讓母親們快樂地過節。人們在這一天除了孝敬自己的生身母親之外，還會以慈善募捐，志愿服務的方式向更多的母親回報親情。