A Mother’s love is something which no one can explain. It is made of deep devotion, sacrifice and pain. She has endless, unselfish and enduring attachment with her children to the last of her breath for nothing, whether that is a heap of currency notes, gold, treasures and/or other material things etc.,can destroy. Even when her heart is breaking, her love never fades away. She is always patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, and never fails or falters. She believes beyond believing when the world around you condemns and it glows with all the beauty of the rarest and brightest gems. You can not define the extent and depth of her love; it is above all the consideration of caste, color and creed. We can not forget the pains she undertook from the very day of conception, caring us in her womb, bearing terrible pains in our delivery to this beautiful life and then upbringing us to the present level. She gave us the feeds without caring if there is any balance for herself or not.
She waked for the whole night and came to us running as and when we cried on account of our hunger or discomfort. It defies all explanation, and still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation of many splendorous miracles, which a male cannot understand. She is another wondrous evidence of God. All the creations made by God owe their origin to the mother – she is true representative of God in this Universe. We need to adore all heartedly.
Mama in Polish, Slovak and also used commonly in Japan, māma in Chinese, máma in Czech, maman in French and Persian, mamma in Italian and Icelandic, mãe in Portuguese, chai ji in Punjabi, mama in Swahili, eema in Hebrew, má or mẹ in Vietnamese, mam in Welsh, eomma in Korean and in many south Asian cultures and the Middle East, known as Ami and Maa, Amaa, Mata,amma or oma or ammi or ummi or aai or variations thereof, whatsoever be names we may call the great mother, she has same love and affection all over the world. Many times these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child’s life. When a child takes birth, after going through the severe labor pains she passes hundreds of nights in caring for. She cares to nourish properly and ensures that her baby may have dry beds always, whether she may have to pass her nights on the wet ones. She is found always ready to get her baby clean first, whether she herself may be taking her meals at the time of its urinating.
A mother is usually the wife in a married couple and back-bone of the family. In most family structures, the mother is both a biological parent and a primary caregiver. She has a very important role in raising offspring. This title is given to a non-biological mother or step-mother (female married to biological father) also if she fills this role. In the case of a stepmother, a child calling that person “mom” indicates the child has finally accepted her in the loving parental role. A similar example would be a child who lacked contact with his or her own mother but became attached to another older female, such as a sister, grandmother, aunt, or close family friend, whom the person describes as “like a mother to me”.
To adore mother, we do not require any particular occasion, or day. We are so indebted to her that every day we need to worship her. For her contribution to our existence and upbringing, we can not value in any terms. For thousands of years Hindus have been celebrating a ten-day festival, Durga Puja, honoring the divine mother Durga every year. However, as a special thanks day, we have fixed a day every year and designated it as mother’s day grading it an opportunity to honor and show our appreciation for our flesh and blood mother – the one person who stands by us through thick and thin.
The first celebrations in honour of mothers were held in the spring in ancient Greece. They paid tribute to Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 17th century, England honoured mothers on “Mothering Sunday,” celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent.In the United States, Julia Ward Howe suggested the idea of Mother’s Day in 1872. She wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, saw Mother’s Day as being dedicated to peace.Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia is credited with bringing about the official observance of Mother’s Day. Her campaign to establish such a holiday began as a remembrance of her mother, who died in 1905 as a way to heal the scars of the Civil War. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother’s Day as a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium also celebrate Mother’s Day same day.
Second Sunday of February is observed as Mothers’ Day in Norway, whereas on 2nd February Greece celebrates. Israel observes on Shevat 30 which falls anywhere between January 30 to March 1st. Georgia pays tributes to mothers on March 3 whereas Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine celebrate on 8th March. Ireland and Nigeria with United Kingdom observe Mothers’ Day on Fourth Sunday in Lent.
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen with all Arab countries in general celebrate on March 21. Slovenia observes on March 25 whereas Armenia on April 7. Nepal celebrates on BaisakhAmavasya (Mata Tirtha Aunsi) that falls near April 24 +/- 5 days.
Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal and Spain observe on first Sunday in May. Albania, and South Korea celebrate Parents’ day on May 8 and Italy on the same day as Festa della Mamma. May 10 is the day fixed by El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico. This year, 10th May as Second Sunday of May would be observed as Mother’s Day by Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Singapore, Surinam, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe. On May 15, Paraguay observes Mothers’ Day whereas Poland celebrates on May 26 as “Dzień Matki”. Bolivia observes May 27 but Algeria and Dominican Republic with Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden and Tunisia celebrate on last Sunday of May. Nicaragua observes May 30. France celebrates Mothers’ day on first Sunday of June if Pentecost occurs on this day. Mongolia observes June 1 as The Mothers and Children’s Day. Second Sunday of June is observed by Luxembourg and last Sunday of June by Kenya. As the birthday of Queen Sirikit, Thailand celebrates on August 12. Malawi pays tributes on Second Monday of October and Belarus on October 14. Argentina has kept third Sunday of October as Día de la Madre.Last Sunday of November is looked upon by Russia as Mothers’ Day and December 8 is the day when Panama celebrates. On December 22, Indonesia observes this great day. This means almost in every part of world, Mother’s Day is being celebrated.
We can celebrate mother’s day:
• By visiting or calling our mother to surprise her by telling her we still remember how she cares for you.
• We may remember to illustrate our point with reminiscences of our childhood and share with her.
• We can send her a card or flowers with a poem specially written for her, if we are not in the same town or can not reach to her personally.
• We may take her out to dinner or cook for her.
• We may take her out for a dance, and tell her she is our first girlfriend and the first woman in our life.
• We may surprise her by making special breakfast for on this Sunday.
• We can think of any one woman, other than our own mother, who has been a mother figure to you, and surprise her by visiting her with some sweets/gifts.
• As a collective social contribution, we can establish Mothers’ House for those ladies who do not have any source of income for their survival or they have been ignored by their offspring due to their own personal reasons. This can be done by establishing a Trust through which Mothers’ Homes can be set up at those places where we see that due to some social or financial problems, offsprings are not able to ensure proper look-after of their mothers/parents. At Mothers’ Homes, we can ensure proper shelter, clothing, food, nutrients, facilities for their spirituality related pursuits, adult education and other necessary facilities.
Contribution/donation of a penny in charity by a person can create good funds to finance such activities to the welfare of the needy world over. This endeavor would be a sincere tribute to our great mothers on this auspicious day.
I believe if I can keep my mother happy and adore her through the core of my heart, I would have His blessings for happiness of my life. We can not square up her obligations on us but we can provide her some comforts which she deserves divinely.
Be Happy – Adore your mother.