A day to celebrate mom
Mother’s Day, a special occasion to honour and celebrate the love and dedication of mothers worldwide, has a long and interesting history.
The modern celebration has roots in early 20th-century America, but the concept of honouring motherhood has existed in different forms across cultures and centuries. The idea of a day to honour mothers can be traced back to ancient civilizations.
The Greeks celebrated a festival for Rhea, the mother of the gods. The Romans honored Juno, the goddess of women and childbirth. In the 16th century, England observed “Mothering Sunday,” a day when people returned to their “mother church” for a special service and visited their families.
The modern Mother’s Day we know today was largely shaped by the efforts of
Anna Jarvis, an American woman. Jarvis’s campaign to establish a day to honour mothers began as a tribute to her own mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who had been a peace activist and cared for soldiers on both sides during the Civil War. After her mother’s passing in 1905, Jarvis sought a way to honour her mother’s work and to recognize all mothers. Anna Jarvis’s campaign for Mother’s Day began with a memorial service for her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908. This service marked the first official observance of Mother’s Day. Today, it is celebrated in numerous countries worldwide, each with its own customs and traditions.
While flowers, cards, and gifts are common ways to show appreciation, the essence of the day remains the same: a time to honour mothers and express gratitude for their unwavering love and support.
In 1274, during the Council of Lyons in France, the Eastern and Western churches were briefly reconciled.
In 1355, 1,200 Jews in Toledo, Spain, were killed by Count Henry of Trastamara.
In 1727, Jews were expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia.
In 1789, the first inaugural ball was held in New York in honour of U.S. President George Washington and his wife, Martha.
In 1893, longtime NHL executive Frank J. Selke was born in Kitchener, Ont. After helping build the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team in the 1930s and ‘40s, Selke managed six Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens teams between 1953-60. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, and in 1978, the NHL inauguarated the Frank J. Selke Trophy. It is awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the league. He died on July 3, 1985.
In 1915, during the First World War, the Cunard steamship “Lusitania” was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland with the loss of nearly 1,200 lives.
In 1934, the 6.3-kilogram “Pearl of Allah” was found in the Philippines. It was valued at $3.5 million.
In 1939, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy announced an open political and military alliance.
In 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to western Allies and Russians at 2:41 p.m. French time at Gen. Dwight Eisenhower’s headquarters in a schoolhouse in Reims, France. In Canada, celebratory rioters smashed and looted downtown Halifax; two navy personnel were killed and 17 injured.
In 1954, the U.S. – supporting France and Britain – rejected Russia’s request to join NATO under special conditions.
In 1960, Leonid Brezhnev replaced Marshal Kliment Voroshilov as president of the Soviet parliament.
In 1975, Canada’s third communication satellite, “Anik 3” was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford formally declared an end to the Vietnam Era.
In 1980, Paul Geidel was released from a New York prison after serving a record term of nearly 69 years. He’d been convicted of second-degree murder in 1911.
In 1992, former senior Quebec cabinet minister Claude Morin admitted he was a paid RCMP informant from 197477.
In 2012, British Columbia formally apologized to the Japanese-Canadian community for the internment of thousands of people during the Second World War. Over 22,000 Japanese-Canadians placed in internment camps in B.C. and across Western Canada.
In 2015, British voters returned David Cameron’s Conservative Party to power for a second term, but with an unexpected majority – albeit a slim one. The Labour Party was routed in Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon’s pro-independence Scottish National Party.
In 2016, Canadian-owned Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby by 1 1/4 lengths, the fourth consecutive favourite to win the first jewel of thoroughbred horse racing’s Triple Crown.