Mother’s Day, celebrated the second Sunday of May and indeed became an official United States national holiday in 1914, does have a very unique and remarkable history. A day set aside in the honoring of mothers is not a new concept or custom. This particular tradition dates back throughout antiquity, even before the ancient Grecians, since the neolithic period.
In ancient Europe, Mother’s Day was normally associated with goddesses who represented the Earth (like Jorth in Norse lore), Nature (like Gaia in the anceint Grecian lore), Fertility (like Nerthus in the Germanic lore), Motherhood (like Frigg also known as Frigga, in Norse and Germanic lore), or as a Mother (like Modron in Celtic lore). It was common to associate a day to each of the goddesses that represented the Earth, Nature, Fertility, Motherhood, and being a Mother. The ancient Germanic people set aside Thursday for women as a day of rest because it was believed the goddess Frigga (aka Frigg) set that day aside to visit with her step-son Thor, who she loved very much and as a son. This could be looked at as a weekly Mother’s Day where mothers would set the entire day aside to visit with their children as an emulation to Frigga (aka Frigg).
In England, Mother’s Day is known as Mothering Sunday. This day is usually celebrated on a Sunday in March (it varies from year to year) and stems all the way back to the Romans and the pagan Festival of Hilaria. This particular festival was held in honor of the Roman goddess Cybele who represented the Earth and Nature. Cybele was often referred by the Romans as “The Great Mother” (per Wikipedia website). The Festival of Hilaria was celebrated for several days, the 15th through 25th of March (per Brittanica Online Encyclopedia website). Imagine,10 days filled with public and/or privately celebrating what motherhood and being a mother represents!
In Norway, Mother’s Day is celebrated the second Sunday in February. Sunday traditionally by the ancient Norse was associated with the goddess Sunna (goddess of the sun, the one that brings warmth to the Earth). Mother’s naturally radiate the warmth of love to their children and the home. One can see how a mother’s warmth of love correlates to a goddess that brings warmth, and why the Norwegians (descendants of the Norse people) would have naturally gravitated, due to their root heritage, toward the choosing of Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day.
March has become the most popular month for countries to celebrate Mother’s Day. Many Middle Eastern, African, European and Asian nations celebrate this in March. This is primarily due to the ancient tradition of celebrating motherhood in-conjunction with a specific goddess which by many cultures was celebrated around the Vernal Equinox (March 21st).
Israel, however, steeped in their own traditionalism that stems all the way back to the ancient Hebrews, celebrates their Mother’s Day (according to the Wikipedia website) on Shevat 30 (a day chosen between January 30 through March 1st).
According to the Wikipedia website, some countries celebrate Mother’s Day in April, like Nepal and Armenia. Many other countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May, like the United States. There are countries like Mongolia who celebrate Mother’s Day in June. Some like Thailand celebrate Mother’s Day in August. Argentina celebrates their Mother’s Day in October, while Russia celebrates this in November. Panama and Indonesia celebrate Mother’s Day in December. This makes honoring mothers and motherhood almost all year round. If a mother and her family traveled to other countries throughout the year, they could celebrate Mother’s Day almost monthly. How grand that would be!
Alicia Rose, personal studies, Indo-European Studies, History, and Mythology, 1978 – present. Mother’s Day, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother’s_Day
Mothering Sunday, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday
Cybele, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele
Frigg, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frigg
Gaia, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology) Gods of the Ancient Northmen, Georges Dumezil, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles,1977
Festival of Hilaria, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilaria
Hilaria (Greco-Roman Festival), Brittanica Online Encyclopedia website: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/265677/Hilaria
Modron, Britannia.com website: http://www.britannia.com/celtic/gods/modron.html Myths of the Norsemen– From the Eddas and Sagas, H.A. Guerber, Dover Publications, Inc, New York, 1992
Nerthus, Wikipedia website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerthus
