This tradition has dates as different as March 21 in Egypt, August 15 in Belgium or December 22 in Indonesia. Although the most common is that it is in May.
The history of Mother's Day
The first record of this holiday comes from ancient Greece. There they worshiped Rea, mother of the gods Zeus, Hades, Poseidon and Era, among others. This tradition was adopted by the Romans, who during the March equinox celebrated the Hilarias, festivals dedicated to mother earth and fertility. Later, with the arrival of Christianity, the festivities were preserved, but they focused on the Virgin Mary.
Its modern origin is not related to any of that. It was the insistence of the American journalist Anna Jarvis, which led to its establishment and official recognition.
Anna had great affection and admiration for her mother, Ann Jarvis, as during and after the civil war in America, Ann created and organized task forces with other mothers to care for soldiers and improve public health. Ann called these working days Mother's Day.
The fight for official recognition Following her death on May 12, 1905, Anna began a campaign to make Mother's Day an official commemoration. To achieve this, he sent letters to senators, governors and celebrities every year.
On the one hand, there were those who promoted using the day to recognize the great role of mothers in society, on the other those who bought gifts to celebrate mother. Both perspectives disliked Jarvis. She wanted to have the exclusive rights to the day and envisioned it more than as a party, as a commemoration for those who put the needs of his children before his own. Anyway, she gave us a great gift: a date focused on affection and gratitude to a very important group: mothers.
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