Origins of Mother's Day

For anyone who's perhaps grown a little tired of the commercial hype of Mother's Day, here is the true meaning of Mother's Day, which is one of the great stories never (or rarely) told. This bit of lost history is from an educator, Joan Lester, in her book "The Future of White Men and Other Diversity Dilemmas":

Mother's Day originated in 1870 as an appeal to women to leave the home for an "earnest day of counsel" in which women would meet together to influence international issues of the day. The first Mother's Day proclamation began with the words, "Arise, then, women of this day!" It was a call to public action.

The Mother's Day proclamation urged women to take public policy into their own hands. It also asked women to stop supporting men who weren't dedicated to seeking peaceful settlements of international conflict. "Our husband shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause" the proclamation continued.

Mother's Day was born out of the suffragist movement of the 1850s and 1860s when women joined together to fight slavery and seek the vote. How fascinating that the bold history of Mother's Day has become transformed into a sanctification of women's domestic role.

I like the suggestion that we celebrate Mother's Day by remembering its origins -- and that we might honour our mothers and foremothers best by remembering that "A woman's sphere is rightly regarded as the world." No false sentimentality here.


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What is a feminist?
As the writer Rebecca West said in 1913,
"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat."

How about the poem by Alice Duer Miller, written in 1915:

"Mother, what is a Feminist?"
"A Feminist, my daughter,
Is any woman now who cares
To think about her own affairs
As men don't think she oughter."


So to all women, everywhere...

Happy Mother's Day!!

Or, you could have a mom like my mom...who thinks Mother's Day is a crock. She told us long ago that she thought it was a rediculous holiday and if we knew what was good for us, we'd do nothing more than get her a card and have dinner with the family.

She always said "Treat me with respect the other 364 days of the year"

So did that mean that Mothers Day was the day you got to treat her like crap?

"Mom, your meatloaf sucks and I hate the sweater you made me for Christmas...now get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich...whore!"

[Edited on May 09, 2004 by Cash]