How did Mother’s Day come about?
Nagpur: An American woman from Philadelphia , Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) came up with the idea for “Mother’s Day” at the beginning of the 20th century as a tribute to her mother.
On May 10, 1908, in what can be called the first Mother’s Day celebration, she sent 500 carnations to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, her mother’s church in Grafton in Virginia. This church is now designated as a National Historic Landmark since 1992.
The event generated an enormously positive response, and after extensive lobbying and letter-writing efforts, President Woodrow Wilson of USA signed a proclamation on May 9, 1914, declaring the second Sunday of May “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
In the official proclamation, he directs Americans to celebrate this day by flying the national flag over their homes and establishments, so important did he deem this day! Below is a photo of that order:
Americans took up this order with great enthusiasm and it became the done thing to buy flowers, candies, chocolates as gifts on this day.
So much so that Jarvis later complained that the greedy floral, Greeting Card and Chocolate industries had “gouged the public,” and used the holiday as “a means of profiteering.” That sounds familiar doesn’t it?!
Yet, we cannot take away from the fact that world wide Mothers are special… they are beloved. So much so, that some decades ago a survey was done across English speaking nations of the world in which people were asked which was the English word they loved the most?
Not surprising at all that the overwhelming response was – MOTHER (Mom)!!
So on this Mother’s day we asked our readers to share with us, their thoughts on the day. What life lesson had their mother taught them?
Here are their responses!
Amrita, Ankita and Niketa Mankar said this –
Mother’s day – photo of Pragati Mankar with her daughters – Amrita, Niketa and Ankita
Mother of three, Joyous to be, Who else can be as frank and free, We daughters the soul of her home, With our better halves her life too now has become whole, Caring for the sons-in-law as sons of pride, Happy and jolly mom with full family tested and tried
May you remain as calm as always, Blessed with the family that’s all God says…
Prashen Kavyal, Great well known Foodie of Nagpur said this about his mom Kamal
Mother’s day…..photo of Prashen and mom
An accomplished cook, dishing out tasty dishes with love, my Mom or Aai as I call her, made me the foodie I am. That apart, I think I got the undying zeal for life from her. She’s the one who believes in taking every moment of life positively in her stride and enjoying each one as it comes. I learnt the same from her.
Kudos to her unending energy.
Happy Mother’s Day, Aai!
Anuradha says her mother taught her to be strong
Anuradha and her mother
Have learnt to be a good mother from my mother…she has taught me to be strongest even when everything around seems against you, to never ever give up on hope and if u do good, good will happen to you. We ma have our differences but the love is unending and unconditional.
Ali Akbar Maimoon has a short and sweet message for his mom –
“My mother was my education. Only because of you, I’m what I’m today.”
Anjali Bhalinge acknowledges her mom taught her to maintain relationships -I learnt from my mother Prabhavati, how important it is to have good relations with your relatives. Especially after marriage, there is a new lot to mingle with. To get to know them…. And for my sake, she kept very good relations with all the people from my in laws side. This has been so good for me! All these relatives are there for me and my girls. She made it easier for me. A big learning thing.
Pratapa Gadigi of Karnataka says this about his mother
“Though my mother had studied only up to 5th standard, she taught us the value of speaking truth and being trustworthy in life; value of having sympathy for people in difficulties, more specifically towards old people in distress; and total commitment to the family. Her consistent practice of these principles has influenced us subconsciously to a great extent in our development. But I regret that I didn’t pick up much of patience in my personality, despite her
advice often.”
Akash Katole, 25, of Mahal says this
We may have fights and arguments sometimes. But there is one thing between us is that unconditional Love.
No matter what we go through How much we argue, because i know at the end she will always be there for me.
Saloni Vyas, just married and settled in USA says this about her mom in Nagpur –
Mothers and daughters are connected with one another. She is the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is the beating of my heart. I miss you mumma
… Sunita Mudliyar
