Why Celebrate Mother's Day, and How Can We Make It Special?

Mother’s Day is celebrated in 50 countries throughout the world (albeit on different days and in different months), and is seen by most as an excuse to spoil your Mum and show her how much you care. After all, the most important lady in your life needs a little TLC. But where did it all begin?

Anna Jarvis

Mother’s Day was first celebrated in the US in 1908. Anna Jarvis, the daughter of a social activist from West Virginia, held a memorial service for her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, following her death and went on the campaign that the day be held in honour of her mother every year.

Feeding the five thousand

In the UK, Mother’s Day is usually held on the fourth Sunday in Lent. Mother’s Day, as well as giving personal thanks for our mothers, is linked to the story of the Feeding of the five thousand, when Jesus used five barley loaves and two small fish and to feed the many people round the table.

Simnel cake

Daughters would bake their mothers a gift of a traditional simnel cake (similar to fruit cake, simnel cake is made with fruit, spices and marzipan.) If the cake stayed tasty and moist until Easter Sunday, the daughter was considered to be a good cook!

It originated in Greece

The actual idea of celebrating mothers stems from Ancient Greece. They hold a festival to their Mother of Gods ‘Rhea’ with the Romans adopting a similar ceremony for their ‘Magna Mater or Great Mother.’

Something really special

Mother’s Day really is a time to do something special, and in the US they really knew this. The National Retail Federation estimated in 2014 that US consumers would spend up to $19.9 billion that year on Mother’s Day gifts, with flowers topping the spend.

That’s just one of many fun Mother’sDay facts. Wherever in the world you are celebrating, take advantage of the opportunity to spoil your Mum. Even if you are on a budget, a little can go a long way so why not cook her a special meal or crack open a bottle of wine and watch a DVD? You could even put together a collage of your favourite pictures together and take her on a trip down memory lane.

This is a Featured Post. Image by lorenkerns, used under Creative Commons licence