In around 50% of the countries across the globe, Mothers’ day is observed on the second Sunday of May month every year. There are other days and dates too for the occasion in other parts of the world, for example, it is observed on the same date as International Women’s Day in some countries like Russia, Vietnam, etc. But any day or date other than second Sunday of May month is not common to more than 20 countries, whereas second Sunday of May is the date in more than 90 countries. India is also on the list of these 90+ countries, so, this article is about the upcoming 8th May 2022 and the history behind it.
Mothers’ Day is a celebration honouring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. In India, mother, as depicted in literatures, is someone worth worshipping, a symbol of love, an avatar of God, and the most lovable person in anyone’s life. The celebration of mothers’ day here is equivalent to the worship of that God. Here I have tried to make a few points that provide a reality check, if that’s really the case.
History:
According to Wikipedia, The modern holiday was first celebrated in 1907, when Anna Jarvis, a US based social activist, held the first Mother’s Day service of worship at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War, and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. She and another peace activist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe had been urging for the creation of a “Mother’s Day For Peace” where mothers would ask that their husbands and sons were no longer killed in wars. 40 years before it became an official holiday, Ward Howe had made her Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870, which called upon mothers of all nationalities to band together to promote the “amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.” Anna Jarvis wanted to honour this and to set aside a day to honour all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.
The current situation:
During the last decade, with the rise of Social Media, a surge and awareness has been observed in the Indian population for celebrating international days such as Women’s day, Mothers’ day, and several other days. Of course it is great to celebrate these days for the history behind, and for the associated importance. But the same social media has turned its users into a validation-hungry and attention seeker population which not only reduces the beauty of the celebration, but also makes it somewhat ugly. First of all, loving mothers must not be such an activity which ceases to once-a-year. Mothers deserve the love every day. Celebrating it daily is obviously not a practical solution, but my point is, we can still make our mothers happy even if it is not the occasion.Â
Further, there have been questions, such as “Should we celebrate moms just for being moms?” But we have seen some brilliant achievements and awe-inspiring stories about moms and their struggles which is enough to subvert anyone’s worldview and such questions fail miserably in front of these inspirational stories.
The painful part is, majority of India’s social media youth nowadays celebrates Mothers’ day by posting a picture of their moms on their social accounts, where those moms in most cases don’t use social media at all. The praises and love reactions are received by the sons and daughters and the mother is still juggling to maintain a balance in the household, the society and everyone’s expectations. Being a mom itself is more than sufficient to be a reason for the celebration, but sadly when people “grow up”, they start lacking that love and respect which each and every mother deserves.Â
This article is an attempt to make ourselves realise all that’s been ignored. Let’s celebrate this 8th May by making our moms really happy instead of posting a picture on social media. This will make the day more meaningful.Â
<<<Download our app for CAT, SSC, Banking etc. courses and more>>>
