The History of Mother's Day

When, How, and Why Mother's Day was Started

Mother's Day is a day for celebrating everything our mom's have done for us throughout the years. A mom is a special person because she gave birth to us, took care of us as children, and still takes care of us when we turn into adult's. In my own opinion, mom's deserve to be celebrated every day because of the pain her children put her through from giving birth to raising a teenager and because of all of the sacrifices mom has made and still makes every day of our lives. Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May every year and this is the day we should think about giving her a special gift to show how much we care and appreciate everything mom has done for us. Check out this article for great gift ideas for mom on Mother's Day.

When Did Mother's Day Begin?

Mother's Day was first recognized when the ancient Greeks honored Rhea, the Mother of God's. During this same time, the early Christians started celebrating Mary, the Mother of Christ. Mother's Day was later expanded to honor all Mother's and was named "Mothering Sunday." Mothering Sunday was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of the Lent Season.

In England, the poor worked as servants for the wealthy and were given "Mothering Sunday" off to spend the day with their moms and make a special cake for Mothering Sunday called, "Mothering Cake."

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the tradition of Mother's Day changed to celebrate the "Mother Church." Over the years the tradition spread and blended with the church to use Mother's Day to celebrate the Church and Mother's both.

Sadly, as the first English settlers settled in America, the tradition of Mothering Sunday was discontinued because of the lack of time. However, Mother's Day was recognized again in the year of 1870 after the American Civil War by social activist Julia Ward Howe.

How and Why Was Mother's Day Recognized Again in 1870?