 | Scott Dwyer has over seven years of full time experience in the retail industry. His parents Harold and Sue Dwyer started Dwyer’s Hallmark in 1982 and will be celebrating twenty-five years in 2007. Scott’s new venture is Nifty Fifty in Andover. The store offers a wide variety of gifts all at 50% off of retail prices. Scott received his degree from the University of Kansas in Business Administration. You may contact him at swdwyer@cox.net or by phone at 316-733-8826. or 316-733-8567. |
Gifts
2007-05-01 08:28:00
How did Mother’s Day start?
Just about everyone loves to celebrate Mother’s Day. How did it get its start?
Answer: I agree. It’s a wonderful day. Love of a mother is such a powerful force when shared. It is the sharing and giving of her love to others that prompted those in history to set aside a day when mothers all around the world could be recognized for the beauty of their love that is their natural expression.
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of Gods. England celebrated a day that they called “Mothering Sunday” in the 1600’s which was celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. It honored all the Mothers of England. Since many of the poor servants worked for the wealthy, and most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would many times live with their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend this special day with their own Mothers.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe this celebration of Mothers changed in time to honor the “Mother Church”. It was thought of as the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time people picked up this rich tradition, by adding in the celebration of their own Mothers, much in the same way as we do today, by the giving of gifts and celebrations at festivals and home.
In 1872 Julia Ward Howe, the writer of the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, first suggested Mother’s Day in the United States as a day dedicated to peace. In 1907 Ana Jarvis was also instrumental in campaigning to establish a national holiday dedicated to the honoring of our mothers by persuading her church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her Mother’s death, and by 1911 Ana was successful in her efforts as almost every state was now celebrating Mother’s Day as a national holiday. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson, then president, made it official and announced Mother’s Day to be held on the 2nd Sunday of May each year.
What a sweet way to tell our mothers how much they mean to us! By setting
aside one day each year for our mothers, we are telling them that all of their meaningful work and love is special in our eyes. While most of us honor our mothers each day in some small way, it is a tribute to mothers all over the world that this day was set aside for all just for them.
