Milk Maid

More than just a ‘Hallmark holiday’

This Sunday will be marked with showering mothers, grandmothers, aunts and mother-figures with days off from chores, flowers, cards, jewelry, buffets and more in for Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father’s Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents Day.

If you haven’t already made plans to spoil the mothers in your life yet, get on it! The women in my life deserve and appreciate efforts to make the day special and so do yours.

When buying a card recently, I heard someone grumble that Mother’s Day is just another “Hallmark holiday” meaning that it’s just another commercial holiday.

I do disagree, but that disgruntled son had me wondering how Mother’s Day came to be. Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses, but the most modern version of Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

In the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, “Mothering Sunday” was a major tradition. This celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”, the main church in the vicinity of their home, for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This eventually faded in popularity before merging with the Mother’s Day that we all know and celebrate today.

The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. In the years preceding the Civil War, Ann Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

The American version of Mother’s Day was created by Jarvis in 1908 and it became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

That disgruntled son I was shopping next to would agree. I believe the mothers in our lives deserve a special day of appreciation, so this is more than just a “Hallmark holiday”.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing women that will be celebrated among their families!

 

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of one of the caring souls I know. Vince LeGare was a dear friend of the Mascot and I will miss seeing his friendly face everyday and hearing his little quips. He always knew how to spoil us with doughnuts and other treats.

Recently, I found an old calendar that Vince gave to his feed clients like my family from 1997 hanging on the back of our old feed room door. I’m planning on leaving it there as a little reminder of the special person that he was. Happy Heavenly Birthday Vince!

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The Minneota Mascot
Address: 201 N. Jefferson
Minneota, MN 56264

Phone:(507) 872-6492