Today is Mother's Day in the United States

Mother's Day is today, on the second Sunday of the month of May. However in Hungary, they celebrate it on the first Sunday of the month. According to history I have read on the web, as many countries, that many origins or timely causes to start to celebrate Mother's Day. The first time they honored mothers go back to Ancient Greece, where they were celebrating the mother of the gods, Rhea. This also coincided with the celebration of spring.
In 1600's England the celebration had a religious undertone, and people even got days off to go and see loved ones. 
In the United States Julia Ward Howe started to implement the celebration of Mother's Day, in Boston, in 1872.  I think she is a person that can inspire women today. She liked Balzac and Sand, and did all the reading in secret... it was not a custom to get women educated at this time. Her brother introduced her to Dickens and Longfellow among others. Oscar Wilde had visited her..... Her marriage did confine her, even though her husband was a scholar. His views were conservative, as far as family was concerned. 
This woman over came all, and was politically active in Women's Suffrage, and had published work, travel books, children's fiction and poems called Passion Flowers.
In 1907 Anna M. Jarvis lobbied to make Mother's Day a national holiday in the United States, which the nation embraced in 1914. She wanted this to be a memorial to her late mother. By the 1920's she was completely against it, when she realized how commercial it became with the flowers, greeting cards and candy. 
 Unfortunately this commercialized celebration spread to Europe as well, and people embraced the idea of buying and giving. In Hungary Mother's Day became a national holiday in 1928, even though they were already celebrating it from 1925 by the Hungarian Red Cross in conjunction with honoring Mary.
So how did we fare at celebrating Mother's Day? We did buy something for my husband's Mom, it is a custom to give her  potted flowers, or flowers that can be planted outside.... and they recall nice memories as she looks at them. We chose dark pink roses, very pretty. I will post a pic at a later time, if it takes at it's new home. I honestly don't know anyone who does not "buy" something to be part of this celebration. Unfortunately most holidays are "buying" holidays, and I dare to say more so in the US than Hungary, though Hungary is quick to catch up with material interests.

Julia Ward Howe

                                                                                

Anna M. Jarvis

Ma van anyak napja az Egyesult Allamokban. Itt mindig majus masodik vasarnapja, mig Magyarorszagon mindig az elso vasarnap. Ez kivancsiva tett, hogy miert is van ez igy, es ahogy olvastam a szokasokat az inteneten, ahany orszag, annyi szokas. Ugy tunik, a okori gorogoknel unnepeltek anyak napjat eloszor, Rhea az istenek anyja  szemelyeben, ez az unnep  egybe esett a tavasz unneplesevel is.
Kesobb, az 1600-as evekben Angliaban, mint vallasos unnepkent emlekeznek meg anyak napjarol. Az emberek szabadnapot is kaptak, ha tavol laktak szeretteiktol. 
Az Egyesult Allamokban ket jelentos alakja van annak, hogy anyak napja hagyomanyos unnep lett. 1872-ben, Bostonban Julia Ward Howe (Ward leanykori neve, jomodu csaladbol szarmazott) szorgalmazta anyak napjat, de amugy is a nokert sok mindent tett. Egyenjogusag es mas politikai tema is kozel allt a szivehez. Szerintem o egy olyan no, aki imspiralhat minket. Habar a hazassaga korlatozta, mert a ferje konzervativ volt, -annak ellenere, hogy egyetemen tanitott- o megis megprobalt kitorni ebbol. Gyerekkoraban sokat olvasott, testvere Dickens es Longfellow-al ismertette meg. Nem iskolaztattak, mert lany volt, de o megis kesztette magat, hogy elorebb jusson. Kiadott konyveket, gyerekeknek, utazasrol es egy verses kotetet is Szenvedelyes Viragok cimmel.  Idosebb koraban Oscar Wilde is meglatogatta... 
Par evtizeddel kesobb, 1907-ben Anna M. Jarvis elhatarozta, hogy anyak napjakent megemlekezik 
az edesanyja halalanak a masodik evfordulojarol. 1914-ben az Egyesult Allamok nemzeti unneppe nyilvanitotta ezt a napot. Ahogy telt az ido, es az emberek ajandekokat, bonbont, viragot es udvozlo lapokat kuldtek egymasnak, Jarvis emiatt egyre inkabb ellene volt az unnepnek. 1920-as evektol a halalaig azon volt, hogy az emberek mondjanak le anyak napjarol. Minden penzet erre koltotte, es szegenyen halt meg. 
Persze anyak napja ebben a formaban hamar tert hoditott Eropaban is. Magyarorszagon eloszor 1925-ben a Magyar Ifjusagi Voroskereszt unnepelte, majd 1928-ban nemzeti unnep lett. 
Hat mindezt elolvasva, mi hogyan unnepeltuk anyak napjat? Mi is vettunk valamit a ferjem anyukajanak, egy sotet rozsaszin rozsat, amit el is ultettunk a kertben. Mindig olyan viragot kap, amit vagy elultetnek, vagy cserepes.... igy szep emlekeket hoz elo kesobb is. Majd rakok fel egy kepet kesobb, remelem szereti az uj helyet es megered. Igy belegondolva, nem ismerek senkit aki nem venne valamit anyak napjara. Sajnos ma mar sok unnep a vasarlas korul forog, es azt hiszem ez jobban igaz itt az Egyesult Allamokban, de mar Magyarorszagon is ugy erzem, hogy az anyagiassag fontos lett.