A special day

YESTERDAY was a special day for thousands of Fijians around the country. It was Mother’s Day, and it is celebrated around the world.

According to the UN Women, the origins of Mother’s Day dates back to ancient Greek and Roman traditions.

It states on its website that in 16th century England, on “Mothering Sundays” people would visit their mother and baked a cake for her. In the United States of America, it states, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May, and we can all thank Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia for it.

She had campaigned hard for a national day, it states, to honour all mothers, following the death of her own mother and activist Ann Maria Jarvis in 1905.

“Mother Jarvis” was a community organiser who started “Mother’s Work Groups” in her home state West Virginia, which brought together mothers working to improve public health and food safety in their communities. Before the flower industry and retail advertising took note of the day, Mother’s Day in the US celebrated the labour and activism of mothers.

After her mother’s death in 1905, Anna Jarvis began gathering support for her ideals to set aside a day in honour of all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

By 1911 all US states observed the holiday, with some officially recognising Mother’s Day as a local holiday.

For one day in the year, we get to honour our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and single dads who also take up the role of motherhood, and we acknowledge their role in our communities and the country.

For many Fijians, yesterday was about pampering their mother. For others, yesterday was just like any other day. It was business as usual.

So yesterday, many families would have been at church if they were Christians, spending the early part of the day reflecting on the word of God, and the importance of mothers in their lives. Others would have done something special for their mothers.

Then as part of an annual tradition, they would have shared a special lunch, with many hands around the house preparing it, ensuring their mother had the day off so to speak. Churches around the country had special services with mothers taking an active role organising it and participating in it. In saying that, families of other denominations still organised something special for their mothers as well.

We realise many families would have been missing their mother who had passed away.

For them, the day meant reflecting on special memories and moments in time.

Memories linger. They live with fond memories of women who meant a lot to them.

There are those who, however, will insist Mother’s Day can be celebrated in several ways but it definitely must not only be for a day, for our mothers were constant in our lives and that is how we must honour them.

However you celebrated yesterday, and whatever your thoughts were about the day, we hope every mother was acknowledged for the work they do daily.