Dear Friends:
Mother’s Day started in Rome and became a United States national
holiday less than 100 years ago.
You may think it all started by Hallmark® in an effort to sell cards, but that is not
the case at all. Mother's Day dates back to the ancient Romans, and made its way to the
United States in the early 1900's, finally becomming a national holiday in 1914.
 The earliest tributes to
Mother's Day date back to the annual spring festival Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother
of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods,
Cybele. Christians celebrated a Mother's Day of sorts during a festival on the fourth
Sunday of Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England, the holiday was expanded to
include all mothers; it was then called Mothering Sunday.
On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the
second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. That was the first official Mother's Day and the
tradition carries on to this day. In fact, Mother's Day has flourished in the United
States; the second Sunday in May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out,
and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take
advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.
When I hear the bell, my heart remembers you and the Mother's love you expressed in
countless ways over endless days…
The “Mother’s
Bell” by Harmony Hollow »
Louise Dawson
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