A special day to honour and celebrate motherhood

Mothers ­— usually the main caregiver in families — are often taken for granted.

Mother’s Day is a special time set aside for people to pamper and express their love and gratitude for that special person in their life: the one who cared for them as they grew up and loved them like only a mother can. Mother’s Day is a time to be thankful for the little things mothers do and it’s an opportunity to show them that they are truly appreciated.

As Canadians, we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. There are about a hundred other countries that recognize their mothers on that same day, including Italy, Japan, Switzerland, China and the United States. England and Ireland however, celebrate Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which usually falls sometime in March.

It was an American who started Mother’s Day as we now know it, and surprisingly it only happened about 100 years ago. In 1905, Anna Jarvis from West Virginia held a memorial for her deceased mother. Once the memorial was finished, Jarvis started to devote herself to creating a day dedicated to mothers and worked hard to make it a nationally recognized holiday.

By 1909, Canada had joined in on the Mother’s Day celebrations, and In 1914 mothers Day was officially recognized as a national holiday. All of Anna Jarvis’ work had come to fruition and one would have expected that she would have been happy. She was joyful until she and her sister, Ellsinore, eventually grew to detest what they felt Mother’s Day had become. The sisters felt the day had grown too commercialized, and then spent their family inheritance campaigning against Mother’s Day.

Ironically, Anna Jarvis never married and didn’t have any children herself.

In the theme of amazing mothers, it is documented that Rajo Devi Lohan of India is the world’s oldest new mother. Lohan gave birth to a baby girl at age 70.

The Russian peasant, Mrs.Vassilyev, is considered to be the record holder for birthing the most children. Mrs. Vassilyev is believed to have delivered 69 children between 1725 and 1765. These were delivered in a total of 27 births, including 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets and four sets of quadruplets. Though little is known about the births or Mrs. Vassilyev, 67 of the 69 children were said to have survived infancy.

My own mother is very special to me and has always instilled pride in our actions and love in our hearts. She is an incredible artist, teacher, athlete and overall amazing mother. Her mom turned 102 years old this year and still swims in the lake and has taught my children about what it was like before airplanes, TV, and even radio. These great lessons mean so much coming from grandma.

So, as Mother’s Day approaches, don’t forget to plan ahead and think of doing something that will tell your mother that you have been thinking of her, and want to thank her from the bottom of your heart for all that she has endured for you over the years.

Jim Dorey,
Editor