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People across the world honour mothers today

By Aayan Ali

LAHORE: People all over the world will honour their mothers today (Sunday).

In Lahore, a large number of people of all ages were seen thronging bookshops for cards and buying flowers to express their love for their mothers.

“A little gift on Mothers Day doesn’t hurt,” said Ayesha, buying a greeting card in a shop in Gulberg. “Even an inexpensive gift can make a mother happy,” she said, “although if we don’t buy one, they love us anyway”.

“A mother is God’s best gift and whoever has the gift should value it,” said Operations DIG Amir Zulfiqar Khan. He said he had written a simple little poem for his mother on the occasion. “My mother means more than anything else to me,” he said, “and I cannot express in words how grateful I am to her. It’s her guidance and prayers because of which I have been successful in life”.

Usman Shah, a young businessman, said gifts were not necessary on Mothers Day and such customs made the love seem fake. “What’s the point in giving gifts, cards and bouquets to show we care only on the day everybody else does?” he asked. “It’s more important to obey our mothers and be good human beings.”

Regala Gift Shop Manager Ramzan said sales at his shop had increased in the last several days and a large number of people, mostly girls, had bought Mothers Day cards.

“I have been a mother for seven months,” said 23-year-old Sana Rizwan, “and I’m already planning my son’s education.” She said only a mother could understand a mother’s feelings. “My son was sick some days ago and I couldn’t stop worrying and crying until he got well. I have never felt so helpless before.”

Television artist Samina Peerzada said although the day wasn’t publicised, its significance couldn’t be ignored. “Being a mother is a special feeling and it gives one an immense joy to see one’s children going on the right path. Younger people should realise that nobody can love them more than their mothers and should obey them all the time.”

There are different stories about the history of the day, but the earliest Mothers Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations honouring Rhea, the mother of the gods, in ancient Greece.

During the 1600s, a ‘Mothers Sunday’ was celebrated in England on the 4th Sunday of Lent. England’s unprivileged, who worked as servants to the wealthy, were encouraged to go back home and spend the Sunday with their mothers. ‘Mothering cakes’ gave the occasion a festive mood.

The celebration eventually became Europe’s homage to the ‘Mother Church’ as people honoured the church as well as their mothers.

Julia Ward Howe suggested celebrating the Mothers Day in the US in 1872 and organised meetings on the day in Boston every year. In 1907, Ana Jarvis from Philadelphia began a campaign for a national Mother’s Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate the Mothers Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd Sunday of May. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians and by 1911, the day was being celebrated in almost all states of the US. Several countries celebrate the Mothers Day on other days of the year.

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