Fishing on the Net
By Bonnie Nelson
M-O-T-H-E-R
M is for the million things she gives me
O means only that she's soft to hold
T for the things she tries to teach me
H is for her heart of purest gold
E for her eyes with love light shining
R means right and right she'll always be
Put them all together they spell Mother,
A word that means the world to me.
Many of us remember that old song written by Howard Johnson in 1915. Sunday, is Motherís Day. A day that we honor our mothers for what they have done for us.
Motherís Day has been celebrated for centuries. In Egyptian, Roman and Greek societies people tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols rather than actual Mothers. The Motherís Day we know of is relatively new.
In the 1600's a clerical decree in England began to celebrate Motherís Day. It was called Mothering Day. It became a holiday geared toward the working classes of England. During this Lenten Sunday, servants and trade workers were allowed to travel back to their towns of origin to visit their families. Mothering Day also provided a one-day reprieve from the fasting and penance of Lent so that families across England could enjoy a sumptuous family feastóMother was the guest of honor. Mothers were presented with cakes and flowers, as well as a visit from their beloved and distant children (http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/).
It may surprise you to know that the woman responsible for Motherís Day was never a mother, herself, but she was a daughter who loved her own mother dearly. Anna M. Jarvis was a school teacher, the daughter of a Methodist minister. When her mother became ill, Miss Jarvis became her caretaker for 15 years. After her loss, Miss Jarvis set out to find a permanent way to honor the memory of her mother, and came up with the idea of a special day to honor ALL mothers, not just her own. Unfortunately, the idea of a national day to honor mothers did not catch on easily. For several years, Miss Jarvis waged a letter-writing campaign and a barrage of letters from she and her friends began to arrive at the homes of influential people, all the way up to the president, himself.
Miss Jarvis coined the name, ìMotherís Day,î and finally, after years of speeches and letter writing, her efforts paid off, and Motherís Day became a national observance when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into effect in 1914.
This Sunday spend some time with your mother. Call her, take her out to dinner, buy her a wonderful card. Just let her know you love her.
Bonnie Nelson is a freelance writer living in Fountain, CO. If you have any comments or questions, email her at waltbon@comcast.net
CONTACT THE WRITER • WALTBON@COMCAST.nET
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