9 reasons why we celebrate Mother’s Day

According to Wikipedia, Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, but most commonly in the months of March or May. The 2018 Mother’s Day is on Sunday, the 11^th of March.

So, why do we celebrate mother’s day? We have curated 9 reasons. Enjoy, share, and celebrate the mothers in your life today.

1. Because, history

For thousands of years, the celebration of mothers and motherhood has occurred throughout the world. From Ancient Greeks who used to celebrate their annual spring festival to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology to Ancient Romans who also celebrated a spring festival by the name of Hilaria in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess, about 250 years before Christ was born.

In more recent times – around the 17^th century – UK customs were linked to the celebrations of Virgin Mary and mothering Sunday’ rituals were developed around this. These are all loose inspirations behind modern day Mother’s Day celebrations.

2. Modern holiday

The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. St Andrew’s Methodist Church now holds the International Mother’s Day Shrine. 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. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed that they were “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

3. Opportunity to thank our mothers and show them love

While mothers should be appreciated everyday, Mother’s Day is an opportunity to formally celebrate our mothers and the mother figures in our lives. Our mothers gave us life, and throughout our lives they do so much for us – from feeding us to clothing us to educating us. Mother’s Day is therefore a useful prompt that reminds us – as a society – to show love, appreciation, and gratitude to those who birthed us.

4. Reunites Familes

As families become older and grow apart – with each person starting their own individual families – Mother’s Day is a great day for families to reunite and spend quality time together. It is a great day for relaxing and letting your hair down. Families can spend it together at home, at the park, at the movies, restaurants etc., as far as they can get pampered, it will be a day well spent.

5. Bonding with mothers

Mother’s Day is a chance to really talk to our mothers and get to know them better. In doing this, we might learn something new and interesting about their lives, before and after they became mothers. You may learn about how wild or conservative they were, what dreams they had before motherhood, and so on. Mothers often have fascinating stories to tell, with many lessons, and Mother’s Day is a good day to hear them.

6. The Economy

Oh yes, Mother’s Day celebrations impact the economy in many countries, including Nigeria. From merchants selling more specific and generic gifts to churches raising more funds for various projects in honor of mothers, Mother’s Day positively affects the economy.

7. Celebrating women in general

Mother’s Day is a great opportunity to celebrate women in general. It is a day to reach out to all the women in our lives, societies, etc., and let them understand that their value is immeasurable.

8. Gender Equality/Women’s rights

Mother’s Day is a day to ponder how to take action to achieve equal rights for all. It is a day to reflect on how difficult it is to be a mother in Nigeria, and find ways to constitutionally make the task of motherhood less onerous. It is a day to think about the diversity of women in general and respect them all.

9. Guide for rest of the year

As said earlier, mothers should be celebrated everyday. That a day is set aside to formally celebrate them doesn’t mean that is the only day they should be loved, appreciated and pampered. Mother’s Day should be a benchmark for the rest of the year, and it should be a guide on how to love your mothers and the women in your lives.

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How are you celebrating Mother’s Day?