O Mothers Day is one of the most important commemorative dates in Brazil. As the name suggests, it is a date that honors mothers and was officially established in Brazil by a decree issued by the president Getulio Vargas. Its modern origin dates back to the United States, at the beginning of the 20th century.
Origins
As we shall see, Mother's Day is considered to have emerged in the United States at the very beginning of the 20th century. Despite this, historians see some similarities between this commemorative date and some celebrations held in classical antiquity, that is, in the Greece and ancient rome.
There is no direct association between the modern celebration and that held in Antiquity, but historians punctuate them in dialogue to demonstrate that festivals in homage to the maternal figure are not exclusive to the contemporary world. In Greece, for example, they celebrated Rhea, the mother of the gods.
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Ann Jarvis activism
Mother's Day, as a commemorative date, emerged in the first decade of the 20th century, being created by Annajarvis, whose intent was to honor her mother, Ann Jarvis, known for carrying out social work with other mothers, especially during the period of American Civil War.
Ann Jarvis, who attended a Methodist church, dedicated her life to social activism. She started it by promoting actions that made it possible to improvement of sanitary conditions of your community. There she created Mother's Day Work Clubs, an institution aimed at improving the sanitary conditions of some cities in West Virginia. In this work, Ann Jarvis assisted families in need of help, and guided them so that they had good sanitary conditions, in order to avoid illness.
During the American Civil War, between 1861 and 1865, Ann Jarvis went to work at the rescue to holiday soldiers, both the Confederates and those fighting for the Union. After the war ended, Jarvis created a club so that actions could be taken in ways that ensure understanding and peaceful coexistence between families of soldiers who fought from different sides. This club had the involvement of other mothers. Together they created Mother's Friendship Day, a day to celebrate peace.
Emergence of Mother's Day
![Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Jarvis, created Mother's Day as a way to honor her mother, who died in 1905. [1]](/f/d80d7f7fdf4f436f6145c23d57fd05cb.jpg)
Mother's Day was created as a tribute to the life of Ann Jarvis. Her death, on May 9, 1905, greatly affected her daughter Anna Jarvis. Years later, she decided to create a commemorative date to honor her mother. Anna Jarvis' work caused a memorial in her honor to be held in May 1908—this was the first Mother's Day.
Anna Jarvis was committed to making Mother's Day permanently a commemorative date in the United States. In this sense, she had the support of a merchant called John Wanamaker.
Later that year, Elmer Burkett, a senator from Nebraska, took the proposal to the US Senate, but it was not approved. Even though, the celebration in honor of mothers spread outby the United States. From 1909 onwards, Anna Jarvis dedicated herself entirely to her mission of making Mother's Day official.
In 1910, the state in which his mother acted as an activist, West Virginia, made Mother's Day official. Two years later, in 1914, the US Congress established the Second sunday of May as the date for the celebration, and the measure was ratified by the then president of the country, Woodrow Wilson. The date was created exactly as a way to honor all mothers.
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Mother's day in Brazil
The popularization of this date in the United States made it eventually reach Brazil. Historians say that the first celebration of its kind took place here in May 12, 1918, in Porto Alegre, in Rio Grande do Sul. This first time was promoted by the Christian Association of Young Men of Rio Grande do Sul.
Mother's Day was made official in Brazil in the 1930s, when the president Getúlio Vargas issued the Decree No. 21,366, on May 5, 1932. Through this document, the second Sunday in May was determined as a time to celebrate the “feelings and virtues” of maternal love.
This date was an achievement made under the influence of the Brazilian feminist movement, which was growing. Another important achievement at the time was the universal female suffrage, also decreed in 1932.
In the coming years, Mother's Day will be celebrated on the following dates:
- 2020: May 10th
- 2021: May 9th
- 2022: May 8th
- 2023: May 14th
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Mother's Day Marketing
With the official date, it became even more popular in the United States. However, Anna Jarvis has become critical of Mother's Day because of her commercialization. Her intention was that the date was something turned to the sentimental issue and that, therefore, it was not exploited as a moment to obtain profit. She was very critical of the sale of cards made for the date, as she felt that those who bought them were too lazy to make a handwritten dedication.
Here in Brazil the situation was no different. Once the commemorative date was created, the practice of celebrating Mother's Day grew and became one of the most important celebrations of the year. Currently, Mother's Day is the second most important commemorative date for Brazilian trade, only behind the Christmas.
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Mother's day in the world
Brazilian Mother's Day followed the tradition established in the United States, and the celebration, as mentioned, takes place on the second Sunday of the month of May. Other countries in the world, such as Denmark, Germany, Australia, Malaysia and Uruguay, also celebrate it on this date.
However, not all countries follow the North American tradition and therefore celebrate Mother's Day on another date. Russia and Serbia, for example, celebrate it on the day March 8th; Norway, in the second sunday in february; Lebanon, in Beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (March 21); and Argentina, in the third sunday in october.
We realized, therefore, that each country holds the celebration at the appropriate time. The important thing is that this important figure in everyone's life is honored in the way he deserves, regardless of the date.
Image credit
[1] commons
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
