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Monthly Spotlight: Mother's Day

Mother's Day

 

Every year, Americans set aside the second Sunday in May to pay tribute to their mothers. The day, which provides an excellent opportunity for remembering mothers and expressing gratitude to them, is one of the most widely celebrated holidays of the year. Mother's Day quickly won popular acceptance both at home and abroad. In the United States and in many foreign nations, church services patterned after those held in 1908, as well as personal expressions of appreciation to mothers, became customary on the second Sunday in May. Today, Mother's Day is celebrated throughout the world. In the United States, the president and the governors of many states issued proclamations declaring the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day. Observances of the day, of course, center around the family. Many churches hold special services on Mother's Day, and sermons are generally based on themes indicating the unique bond between mother and child.--Salem Press Encyclopedia

From the ancient Greeks and Romans holding festivals to pay tribute to mothers to Christians during the Middle Ages honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus, with appropriate observances every year, Mother's Day has been observed for many, many years. Even the date to which the holiday took place varied; During the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe suggested that July 4th be renamed Mother's Day and urged that the occasion be used for promoting peace, at one point in England, the fourth Sunday in lent was celebrated as Mothering Sunday, and in Yugoslavia, a similar event was traditionally held shortly before Christmas season. It wasn't until Ann Reeves Jarvis, however, that placed the US version of Mother's Day on the calendar as the second Sunday in May. --Salem Press Encyclopedia

Ann Reeves Jarvis loved her mother dearly and saw her as one of the best people to have ever lived. She was said to be kind, caring, and charitable, helping out those in the community and always trying to do what was right. Two years after her mother's death, Miss Jarvis organized memorial services for her mother. Then, in one of those mad, boundless leaps taken only by the most creative holiday entrepreneurs, Anna Jarvis went national. She decided that henceforth, on the anniversary of her mother's death, all Americans ought to honor the women who gave them birth.

However, some people, like Senator Elmer Burkett, would try to twist the viewpoints of Mother's Day into something strange and, in turn, be mocked for it. You can read more of that HERE, published by The American Enterprise.  After that whole fiasco, Jarvis became adamant about the purpose of Mother's Day and was strongly against its commercialization over the years. To learn more about the opposition, click HERE for an article published by the Weekend Edition Sunday. Even in recent times, there had been talking and questioning if Mother's and Father's Day should be combined into one holiday known as Parents' Day. As far as most are aware, this didn't end up happening, but you can read more about it HERE, published by Fathering.

But outside Ann Reeves Jarvis's outlook on how mothers should be perceived and honored, throughout history, many others, including scientists and philosophers, thought that the purpose of motherhood was for different uses throughout the years. And maybe at one point they were, but as time and evolution took hold, things, including motherhood, have changed. Take a look at this article by Tribune News Service to learn more. 

There are many ways and resources you can use to celebrate Mother's Day:

Mother Figure noun:

  1.  an older woman who is respected and admired like a mother. --Merriam-Webster
  2.  a woman embodying or seeming to embody the qualities of an idealized conception of the female parent, eliciting from others the emotional responses that a child typically has toward its mother. --Dictionary.com
  3. If you regard someone as a mother figure, you think of them as having the role of a mother and being the person you can turn to for help, advice, or support. --Collins Dictionary
  4. a woman who you feel you can ask for help, support, or advice --Cambridge Dictionary
  5. an older woman who is respected and admired like a mother --The Britannica Dictionary

Different familial experiences are bound to happen in our society. Whether someone lacks a parental figure in their life, wants a different outlook from a parental figure, or simply needs the help of another parental figure, can often be the case for some people. After all, it takes a village to raise a child. So, why not add in your mother figure to the celebration of Mother's Day?

There is an importance of having a mother figure in one's life. Whether this person is biologically your mother or a mother figure, studies have shown that it shows in children's psychology that having a mother in any form is better than having none at all. Check out a couple of articles provided below: 

Each celebration for Mother's Day around the world is also different than the one celebrated here in the US. Check out the countries below and see how they celebrate!

  • India
    • Usually celebrating via festivals
      • Each October, Hindus honor Durga, the goddess of mothers, during the 10-day festival known as Durga Puja. The celebration is thought to date back to the sixteenth century and is considered both a religious ceremony and a time for family reunions. One story tells of Durga returning to her parents’ home to show off her own children. Families spend weeks preparing food, gathering gifts, and decorating their homes for the festival.
  • Japan
    • Giving red or white flowers
      • Following World War II, a version of Mother’s Day grew popular as a way of comforting mothers who had lost sons to the war. You’ll see carnations presented around this March holiday, as they symbolize the sweetness and endurance of motherhood in Japanese culture. Originally, children gave a red carnation to a living mother and displayed a white one if their mother had died. Now, white has become the traditional color.
  • Ethiopia
    • Festivals and food
      • The Antrosht festival, observed at the end of the rainy season in early fall, is dedicated to moms. After the weather clears for good, family members from all over flock to their homes for a large meal and celebration. Daughters traditionally bring vegetables and cheese, while sons supply meat. Together, they prepare a meat hash and sing and perform dances that tell stories of family heroes.
  • The UK
    • Going back to faith
      • Mothering Sunday" falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Back in the 1700s, the day was marked by young house servants returning home to spend time with their mothers. That custom evolved from an earlier one in which families who had moved away would return to the original church they attended. Today, the holiday remains grounded in religion, with many churches handing out daffodils for children to give to Mom. Traditionally, girls also bake a fruitcake for their mothers.
  • France
    • They deserve a medal
      • In 1920, the government of France began awarding medals to mothers of large families in gratitude for helping rebuild the population after so many lives were lost in World War I. After the Second World War, the government declared the last Sunday in May to be Mother's Day. The traditional gift is now a flower-shaped cake.

--Scholastic: Parents

  • The average age of women giving birth for the first time is 27.3 years as of 2021 and is slowly getting older.
  • The number of kids women have is also declining over the years
    • 1970s averaged 3 kids, while 2020 averaged 2 kids
    • It has also been noticed that women with higher education tend to have fewer children
  • Moms spend more time with their kids than dads
    • Moms with kids 6 and under averaged 7.5 hours on childcare per day on average (during waking hours), and Dads clocked an average of 5.32 hours
      • They also spend an average of 2.7 hours per day on caregiving tasks
    • In an opposite-sex relationship, wives spend 12.2 hours on caregiving per week on average, compared with 9 hours for husbands.
      • Mothers report taking on more childcare responsibilities than their spouse or partner does
        • while fathers are more likely to say these tasks are split about equally
  • About 88% of mothers say that being a parent is the most or one of the most important aspects of who they are as a person, with about a third (35%) saying it is the most important aspect.
    • While about 85% of fathers say that being a parent ranks among the most important aspects of who they are, they are less likely than mothers to say it is the most important: 24% say this.
  • Among parents of children younger than 18, about half of mothers (51%) say they are the type of parent who tends to be overprotective, compared with 38% of fathers.
    • On the flip side, fathers are more likely than mothers to say they tend to give too much freedom (24% vs. 16%)
  • Mothers are more likely than fathers to say they feel judged at least sometimes by their own parents (47% vs. 38%) and their spouse or partner’s parents (45% vs. 37% among those who are married or living with a partner) for how they parent their children.
  • Women comprise almost half of the U.S. labor force, and many of those women are mothers. 
    • According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 71% of mothers with children at home are working.
    • The Center for American Progress reports that women are the sole or primary breadwinners in 41% of American households with children.
  • A study by Census Bureau researchers found that between two years before the birth of a couple’s first child and a year after, the earnings gap between opposite-sex spouses doubles.
    • The gap continues to grow until that child reaches age 10. Though it narrows after that, it never disappears completely.

Information gathered from AAUW and Pew Reseach Center: Key Facts about Moms and Gender and Parenting.