Post by cyberangel on Mar 10, 2013 16:52:43 GMT
Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring festivities of ancient Greece, in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. In Rome, the most significant Mother's Day festival was dedicated to the worship of Cybele, another mother goddess. Ceremonies in her honor began some 250 years before Christ was born. This Roman religious celebration, known as Hilaria, lasted for three days - from March 15 to 18.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe, mother's day celebrations were held on the fourth Sunday in Lent - Laetare Sunday or mid-Lent Sunday - and they were adapted to honor the Virgin Mary and also the "Mother Church." Custom began to dictate that a person visit the church of his/her baptism on this day and people attended the mother church of their parish, laden with offerings.
Eventually, the custom of making donations to one’s Mother Church expanded to include honoring one’s own mother; young people, such as servants and apprentices, were given the day off to visit their mothers and take gifts of food, which sometimes included a special “mothering cake.” Often, this would be a very rich fruit-laden concoction called a simnel cake. They would also bring her bouquets of spring flowers which were blessed in church first. And, it was customary for sons and daughters to take on the mother’s chores.
By 1935, the custom of keeping Mothering Sunday had lapsed in Europe, but was revived again after World War II. Its revival was brought about through the influence of American servicemen stationed overseas. In honouring their mothers on the 2nd Sunday in May, which had been instituted in the USA in 1907, they brought back for the people of Ireland, Great Britain and other European countries, the centuries old tradition of paying homage to mothers, but, as in the old days, Ireland and her geographic neighbours reverted back to keeping it on the 4th Sunday in Lent.
Nowadays Mother’s Day here in Ireland is just the same as in any other European or North American country (well, on a different date, but apart from that…Mothers are being spoiled with flowers and presents and kids and husbands are taking over the Mums’ chores.
And to all you Mums out there...Happy Mother’s Day, I hope you are being spoiled!!!
