The earliest Mother's Day can be traced back to the spring celebration in ancient Greece to commemorate Rhea, the mother of the gods. In A.D. 1600, England celebrated a day called Mothering Day. Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent (40 days before Easter) in memory of mothers in England.
During this period, many poor people in Britain served the rich. Since most jobs are far from their homes, servants will live in their employers' homes. On Mothering Sunday, servants have a day off and are encouraged to go home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake called "mothering cake" is often brought to add festive atmosphere.
With the spread of Christianity throughout Europe, the celebration has become a commemoration of the "mother church"-a spiritual force that gives them life and protects them from harm. With the passage of time, church festivals and mothering Sunday celebrations are integrated. People began to respect their mothers and churches.
In the United States, Mother's Day was first proposed by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote for battle hymn of the republic) on 1872, and she regarded it as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe holds an organized Mother's Day rally in Boston, Massachusetts every year.
1907 anna jarvis, from Philadelphia, launched 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 second Sunday in May. The following year, Philadelphia also celebrated Mother's Day.
Ms Jarvis and her supporters began to write letters to ministers, businessmen and politicians, demanding the establishment of a national Mother's Day. This is very successful, because almost every state celebrates Mother's Day. President Woodrow Wilson issued an official statement in 19 14, declaring Mother's Day a national holiday and celebrating it on the second Sunday of May every year.
Although many countries in the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, some countries, such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium, also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.