“The Celebration of Mothers”
HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY
Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”
Mothering Sunday was once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. This celebration was held on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally a time when people returned 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 give their mums flowers or other gifts of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s, which has turned into the Mother’s Day in NZ we know today.
Did you know more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year? These calls to mum often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37%.