Thinking About … Mother’s Day

“She did your laundry, cheered you on at every ball game, and never once called attention to the crusty washcloth underneath your bed. She cooked your favorite meals, sent fresh baked cookies to your frat house, and when you brought home that creepy chick with the lopsided boobs, your mom let you figure out for yourself that Miss Wacky Rack was a psycho. Yes, gents. This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and if you’re any kind of son you will make damn sure—at the very least—that mom gets her fill of unlimited bread sticks and bottomless salad at The Olive Garden.”

This whole paragraph is completely aimed at men. Women love their mother’s too. I’ll never forget my momma hidding the shoes of the men whom I snuck into my room, so papa didn’t fly into a rage. Also when she invited me home from college so that I could eat a decent home cooked meal. She’s also the woman who taught me that the women in the magazines are not perfect, that they are all airbrushed and play a part in a fantasy world. There might not be any female writer’s at the TP but can’t one of you testosterone bags use your imagination and put yourself in the high heeled shoes of a woman? I love reading your column every work day but this really disapointed me.

P.S. Is your idea of advertising tittilating brand’s of alcohol (Bakon Vodka? Come on!) while I am at work your way of turning me into an alkie? It’s cruel and unusual punishment. Now please excuse me while I sip from my flask filled with bakon bloody mary’s. hiccup.

Oh Jim my friend…I hope you feel that way about Father’s Day and Valentine’s day too then!

This will be my first Mother’s Day without my Dear Mom. She passed last August 28, 09. It is breaking my heart just thinking about it. I don’t even want to go to the mall, seeing all the nice gifts I would normally buy for her is to much for me.

HJV

The Encyclopædia Britannica (1959 edition) states: “A festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor.”

Historians believe that the earliest celebrations of Mother’s Day was the ancient spring festival dedicated to mother goddesses. The ancient Greek empire had a spring festival honoring Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the gods and goddesses. In Rome there was a Mother’s Day-like festival dedicated to the worship of Cybele, also a 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.

“In spite of the popularity of Cybele, . . . and sporadic occasions honoring mothers during the Middle Ages, it was not until 1914 that the proper combination of sentimentality, idealistic promotion and hard business sense impelled the United States Congress to designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.”

Mother’s Day was originally pagan and used to worship a pagan god. But most will say: That Mother’s Day has nothing to do with this United States Mother’s Day. That Mother’s Day was established on the grounds of Paganism but this America’s Mother’s Day was made official in 1914 by Congress and started by a group of women who wanted to pay tribute to their mother’s. There seems to be no connection of Pagan roots in America’s Mother’s Day.

But it’s interesting to point out that Anna Jarvis, the one who introduced the concept of a non-secular celebration of mothers, became disenchanted with the commercialism of the holiday. It got to the point that remembering a mom was not enough. Instead, cards, flowers, cake, perfume, and other items had to be purchased to make mom feel good. This is why there was eventually an attempt to stop the celebration of Mother’s Day.

Let’s consider though that Mother’s Day is a spring celebration. And other’s around the world celebrate Mother’s Day in a distinctive way that involves worship to Mother Nature or Mother Earth. For example, the first rites of Spring are held over Mother’s Day weekend by Pagans in New England. It is a Pagan gathering that started in 1979 on Mother’s Day weekend and involves pagans, witches, and other participants from all over the world. Magical rituals are conducted during this time.

Mother’s Day is so tainted and decieving when we start looking at these different factors. Mother’s Day has lost its original aim and purpose. Utimately, I find that it is up to each one of us to honor our mother each and every day. That we can set our own date any other day in the year to honor our mother. It doesn’t have to be on Mother’s Day. Nobody should be expecting something just because of a day. We seem to always expect something during the holidays. Instead, it should be a surprise.

I thought long and hard about whether I would take the time to response to your Mother’s Day article. I decided finally, a day after Mother’s Day to write because I could not believe the amount of rage it incited on a cellular level on the Friday I read the article and of course I need some time to simmer down. The line about “You only have one mother” seems very antiquated from the writers of TTP. Daily stories for the thinking man should include all the hard working non-biological mothers who also should be remembered on this very honoring day, not only the birthing mothers. It just makes me so mad that us “mothers” who have sacrificed so much in order to “adopt” other people’s children have so little in terms of recognition or a valued position in society. What do we do on Mother’s Day? Do we stand up or remain seated since we aren’t the “official” mother? Step means one step away, but does that change the amount of love or care or devotion that is given? I do not care for that terminology. Some people have more than one mother. And it is unfortunate that that is not seen.