Set 1: Essay On Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is celebrated honouring one’s own mother, as well as motherhood, motherly ties and the impact of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in different countries of the world. Every year, it is mostly celebrated in the months of March and May. Bible, the holy book of Christians, says that Eve is the mother of all living things. In most of the languages around the world, the word Mother’ begins with the letter ‘M’. However, the idea of celebrating ‘Mother’s Day’ in India is an example of following the Western culture.
It is believed that Mother’s Day date back to early Greeks. The first celebration of this day was held in ancient Greece. Greeks paid their tribute to Rhea, the Mother’ of all Gods. Among the Romans, offerings were given to their Great Mother of all Lords called ‘Cybale’. England honoured mothers by celebrating Mothering Sunday’ on the fourth Sunday. People from Ireland started celebrating this day on the same day of Mothering Sunday.
In 1872, Julia Ward Home put forward the idea to observe Mother’s Day in United States of America. However, the celebration of Mother’s Day began in the United States in the beginning of 20th century. A woman named Anna Marie Jarvis planned a day to attract attention of the people about poor health conditions of women. She strongly believed that only mothers could deal with it. This day was originally known as ‘Mother’s Work Day.’
In 1915, the President of America, Woodrow Wilson signed a Bill that declared Mother’s Day as a national holiday. Today, countries like Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Australia and Finland also celebrate Mother’s Day on the same day as United States.
There are different ways of celebrating Mother’s Day in different countries. Its origin and tradition has been influenced by the American customs that includes gifting flowers and chocolates to mothers, going to church and going on lunch or dinner.
In India, Mother’s Day is celebrated ever year in the first week of April. On this day, we greet and hug our mothers tightly saying, “Happy Mother’s Day.” We surprise her with greeting cards, gifts and chocolates.
We must thank our mother to bring us in this beautiful world. All of us must promise ourselves to protect and take care of our mother, similarly as she cared us when we were small. We must daily express our thanks to God for giving us ?. loving mother.
Set 2: Essay On Mother’s Day
May 12, every year is a day dedicated to mothers and has begun to be celebrated as the ‘Mother’s Day’. There is a growing trend of celebrating ‘Days’ now the Mother’s Day, the Valentine Day the World Food Day and what not. This is what our modern town life in particular has adopted from the west like so many other things food likings in particular. The Indian culture regards mothers and fathers as Gods – (Matridevo bhava, Pitradevo bhava). It is an eternal and everlasting thought and ever present thought regardfulness to the mother and the father.
The Western way of life is such that as soon as the youngman or youngwoman attains the age of youth, he or she wants to lead an independent life independent of their parents. And, therefore, they need a day specially assigned when they would particularly remember their ‘Mother’ that they have one who also deserves some care and concern. They, therefore, have a day when they would visit their mother, offer her some presents, if nothing else then a bouquet and take her out for dinner and when the ‘Day’ is done, the ‘Mother’ is dumped back to her loneliness and seclusion only to wait for a year for the next Mother’s Day. The Indian way of life and culture has ever seen so different. Ours has been a composite culture a joint family system – at least parents are always a part of our life and it is not only an obligation but a duty to look after them even if they live in the village while the son works and lives in the town.
Still with such a culture which rests on the emotional and sentimental considerations, one knows not why our modern town life revels in emulating the West. The concept of a ‘Mother’s Day’ is one such example of the emulation of the West and so is the much publisized, much maligned and much agitated against is the ‘Valentine Day’.
Let us at least know what this ‘Mother’s Day’ is all about. the date, of course, is May 12, of the year. The first celebration of the Mother’s Day was held in the spring season in ancient Greece by paying tribute to Rhea, the ‘Mother’ of Gods. During the 17th century England honoured mothers by celebrating ‘Mothering Sunday’ on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
In the United States of America Julia Ward Home suggested the idea in 1872 and perceived ‘Mother’s Day’ as dedicated to Peace. But it was Auna Jarvia of Philadelphia who brought about the official observance of Mother’s Day. She wanted this Day to be a holiday and launched a campaign for it. This she did in memory of her mother who died in 1905 and who had, in the late 19th century tried to establish ‘Mother’s Friendship Days’ as a way to heal the scars of the Civil War in America.
In 1907 Jarvia held a ceremony in Grafton, West Virginia, to honour her mother who had died in 1905. The proceedings touched her so greatly that she began a massive campaign to adopt a formal holiday for honouring mothers and in 1910 West Virginia became the first state to recognise Mother’s Day. A year later, nearly every State officially marked the Day and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed ‘Mother’s Day’ as a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May.
Jarvia had begun the celebration as one to be a sentimental tribute to the mother, but her intent and purpose got defeated when she found the ‘holiday’ being commercialised. Cards got printed in lavish style and got sold out in large numbers, celebrations began to be arranged on a commercial basis. Trade took away the sentiment behind the whole thought. Jarvia felt so frustrated that she thought that her accomplishment was turning bitter for her. She fought against this commercialisation and even filed a law suit in 1923 to stop the celebration of the Mother’s Day. She was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a War Mother’s Convention, when women sold white carnations. ‘White Carnation’ was the symbol designed by her for mothers to raise money to help impoverished mothers who had lost their sons in the Civil War. But she never intended to make it a profit earning proposition and that is what it had exactly become.
Jarvia was never a mother herself. She spent her maternal fortune trying to stop the commercialisation of the holiday and the venture that she had started.
Today countries like Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium also celebrate Mother’s Day on the same day as U.S. Why, then should India lag behind India’s big towns have also begun the celebration of this Day on a large scale whether it is more the sentiment behind it or the profit motive only the card printers and the celebration organisers would better known.
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