Each year in May, people around the world stock up on cards, flowers, candy and other gifts to shower their mothers, stepmothers, and other maternal figures in their lives. The celebration of motherhood is appreciated by moms but many do not know the history behind Mother’s Day.
Mothers have been celebrated throughout history going back into Greek and Roman times where the mother goddesses Cybele and Rhea were honored during celebrations. Later, early Christians developed festivals known as “Mothering Sunday” for followers to return to their “mother church” and overtime, the ritual turned into a celebration in which children would present their mothers with gifts and flowers to show their appreciation. In America, “Mother’s Day Work Club” was founded in 1908 by Anna Maria Jarvis to help teach women how to “properly care for their children,” as a way to honor the sacrifices mothers made for their children and also as an anti-war movement. Mother’s Day became an official holiday in America in 1914 as a result of the day started by Jarvis as a day of celebration between mothers and their families. Jarvis wore a white carnation as a symbol, a badge to honor mothers on this day in celebration and to worship at church. Florists and other industries saw the popularity of the holiday and quickly swept in to capitalize on the demand for flowers, gifts, and cards for people to purchase to share with their Mothers. In the following years, Jarvis aggressively fought against the system for commercializing the day and eventually disowned it yet the holiday still carries a strong tradition around the world today.
Family Traditions
As with many families, my family has our own Mother’s Day traditions, our own history but this is a bittersweet Mother’s day for me. The biggest let down is not personally seeing all of my family. Let me tell you, the Fleckenstein’s are all about family and have one of the biggest family units ever! Typically we gather at my in-laws home and celebrate by cooking on the grill, playing some outdoor games, sharing presents, engaging in great conversation, and of course, lots of desserts! It is always a great day to get together and catch up as a family. We recognize the day as a time to celebrate all of the mothers in our family, but most importantly, we give special appreciation to the women who were mothers first, my Mother-in-law, and my Mother. These women are the foundation, the glue, the leaders, the teachers, and the first ones we go to without a thought, to support us.
This Mother’s day is going to be celebrated, but it will be very different than years past. As we all are pretty much self-contained within our own homes, we can find new ways to still connect on this sentimental day. We can celebrate via telephone conversations, zoom, face time, cards, or letters. We can still send warm wishes, love, hugs, and kisses, and prayers along to our loved ones!
I hold solace in the thoughts of future visits and events near and dear to my heart. I am waiting for the time when we can come together with all of our family members. For myself, I am terribly missing my mother, our two wonderful children, and our first grandchild who are all out of state. I miss their smiles, their laughs, and the conversations we would normally have. I miss our family traditions, like planting flowers and just basking in the outdoors and sunshine. For now, we have been doing weekly video calls to catch up and see each other. So yes, this year is different celebrating Mother’s day during COVID-19. It will be a story I will tell vividly in my senior lifetime but in the meantime embrace your loved ones in any way that you can.
As you celebrate with your family, try to remember that this is not forever, rather just a bump, a hiccup in our lives, and a new page in the history of your Mother’s Days.
Happy Mother’s Day to all.
Written by Arianna Fleckenstein
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