Do You Know the Facts Behind Mother's Day?

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can go back to the summer celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, The British celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of The UK..

During this period many of the England's poor worked as servants for the rich. As most jobs were located milesfrom their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have a holiday and would return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often given to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" the spiritual power that gave them hope and protected them from danger. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words for the hymn "Battle of the Republic") as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began 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 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Mother's Days in various parts of the world
Mother's Day is celebrated on different days throughout the world.

i. Second Sunday in February: Norway
ii. Shevat 30 (falls anywhere between January 30 and March 1): Israel
iii. March 3: Georgia
iv. March 8: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam . The date coincides with the International Women's Day. fourth Sunday in Lent (Mothering v. Sunday - March 18 in 2007) Ireland, United Kingdom
vi. March 21 (first day of spring): Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
vii. April 7: Armenia
viii. first Sunday in May: Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain
ix. May 8: South Korea, Albania (Parents Day)
x. May 10: much of South America, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore
xi. second Sunday in May:United States, Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados,Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Croatia, Curacao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
xii. May 26: Poland
xiii. May 27: Bolivia
xiv. last Sunday in May: France (except if it coincides with Pentecost day, in which case Mother's Day will be shifted to the first Sunday of June), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Sweden
xv. May 30: Nicaragua
xvi. August 12: Thailand (the birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara)
xvii. August 15(Assumption Day): Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica
xviii. second or third Sunday in October: Argentina (D�a de la Madre)
xix. last Sunday in November: Russia
xx. December 8: Panama
xxi. December 22: Indonesia
20th Jumada al-thani (also called Women's Day): Iran and other Muslim peoples, especially Shias. The date is the (disputed) birthday of Fatima Zahra. The Islamic calendar is lunar so it cycles relative to the Western calendar