Mother’s Day is a holiday celebrated worldwide to celebrate motherhood. In the modern form, it originated in the United States and is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Many other countries also mark this day as the celebration of Mother’s Day while some countries mark its observance at other times of the year. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was established by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official holiday in 1914. In 2021, Mother’s Day landed on May 9th, the second Sunday of the month.
However, the origin of Mother’s Day dates back to ancient times when festivals were held to honor mother goddesses. For example, the Greeks held a festival to honor their great goddess Rhea, while the Phrygians held a ceremony for Cybele, The Great Mother of Gods. Some cultures still continue to host such festivals, for example, Durga-pooja in India is still celebrated to honor the great goddess Durja. Thus the history of Mother’s Day stems from these historic practices from thousands of years ago.
