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MAY 1, 2008
Loving appreciation for our mothers through the ages
The annual celebration of Mother’s Day is fast approaching, providing each of us another reminder of the important role of mothers in our society and of the special gifts we have each personally received from our moms.
We each hold dear specific memories from our childhood that immediately put us back in touch with feelings of maternal warmth and safety. For instance, the smell of freshly caught trout frying in a pan will always remind me of my mother’s cooking and the family vacations at Yellowstone Lake.
History of Mother’s Day
The power of motherhood to shape our individual lives and to enrich our shared human experience is evident in the historical record. Both ancient Greece and Rome held public religious celebrations in honor of Rhea or Cybele, the “mother of the gods.”
In England in the early 1600s, Christians set aside a day to celebrate Mary, the Mother of God. The celebration gradually grew to honor all mothers, leading to the establishment of “Mothering Day” on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Servants working and living in upper class English homes were given a holiday to return home and spend family time with their mothers.
In the United States, it wasn’t until after the Civil War that public recognition of mothers was proposed. Social activist Julia Ward Howe worked to establish a special “Mother’s Day for Peace” to honor peace, motherhood and womanhood.
In 1905, after the death of her beloved mother, another social advocate, Anna Jarvis, helped popularize Mother’s Day to encourage children to express appreciation to the their moms while they were still living. Shortly thereafter, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, a practice that continues today.
Celebrating Mom’s special day
Now celebrated all around the world (though on different days in different countries), Mother’s Day invites each of us to express gratitude for all our mothers have done to raise and nurture us. Some have complained about the commercialization of the day by vendors of greeting cards, flowers and phone services and by happy restaurateurs who enjoy their busiest day of the year so moms don’t have to cook. I prefer, however, to focus on the benefits for all of us.
It is wonderful and appropriate that moms are recognized with gifts, phone calls, visits and special outings. I especially prize the use of greeting cards to encourage appreciative children of all ages to take the time to handwrite a personal note of love and gratitude. In an age when human communications are so often reduced to cryptic text messages via cell phone, it seems all the more valuable for a mom to receive a few personal words of endearment on a cheerful card that can be held in hand and saved for re-reading throughout the year.
My own feelings around Mother’s Day tell me that it is not by accident we celebrate motherhood in May. Spring is a time of freshness and abundance, a time when the plentitude of nature reasserts itself and gives promise of new and long life and all the joys and sorrows that may come with it. Springtime, as motherhood itself, is all about birth, potential and the generous sharing of all that life has to offer. I expect that as we honor our mothers, we are also at some level celebrating the underlying gifts of life itself, as it is given by our mothers and received by ourselves and future generations.
Celebrating life, the power of caregiving
So Mother’s Day, I believe, is all about the mystery of creation and the holiness and dignity of life. Mothers deserve our love and respect because they are at the beginning and the center of our lives. As women, mothers in our society assume the lifelong role of caregiver. Having nourished their children, they are typically called upon to become the primary caregivers for their own aging parents as well as for their parents-in law.
Many women, unfortunately, then find themselves facing the challenges of aging without adequate daily support. At the Foundation for Senior Living, serving the needs of our most vulnerable seniors, most often women, mothers and widows, is our mission and our privilege.
The annual celebration of Mother’s Day invites us all to give thanks for the power of motherhood and to be touched again by its special gifts.
On Sunday May 11, for those of us fortunate enough to be blessed with a living mom, let us seize the opportunity to honor her with heartfelt words of thanks. For those whose moms have passed on, let us celebrate their memory by reflection and prayer and thankfulness — for them and for all mothers.
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