THINGS YOU MAY NEVER LEARN IN A CLASSROOM: Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday)

THINGS YOU MAY NEVER LEARN IN A CLASSROOM
By Obo Effanga

Lesson 10: Mother’s Day (Mothering Sunday).

There’s been some seemingly jealousy-induced controversy as to why today (Sunday March 11, 2018) is Mother’s Day, just a few days after the celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD). This is further compounded by the fact that even after today, the world is still going to witness more of the mother’s days or women’s days, like the Mother’s Day, US edition in May.

This is what it is about. The IWD is celebrated globally on March 8, each year to recognise women for their achievements in various areas of human endeavour. It also offers an opportunity for discussions on the struggles for women’s rights and human equality and equity. It draws its history from a labour protest in 1908 in the US.

Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday however comes on different days, depending on the country and tradition. Today’s Mother’s Day has some Christian influence and honours mothers or maternal figures.

Interestingly this celebration started off, not as a celebration of mothers but of the celebration of the ‘mother’ church. Back in the days in the UK, domestic hands or servants were usually given that day off to return to their home towns and worship with their families. With time, the servants began a tradition of picking wildflowers on the way to decorate their church or present to their mothers.

That is how the celebration gradually became an event to honour mothers. That is as far as the tradition goes in the UK (and other countries with strong ties with the UK or in churches with strong connection to churches in the UK). Mother’s Day in the church in the UK is marked on the fourth Sunday in Lent, thus its specific day keeps moving, usually within March.

In the US, however, the Mother’s Day tradition had a different history as it was established in May 1914 following agitation by a mother’s union led by one Anna Jarvis. It is said that Anna sought the date to be in May, to commemorate her late mother who died in May, and the then US President acceded to the request. And since then, the US has celebrated Mother’s Day in the second Sunday of May.