How many of you really celebrate mothers' day? Flowers, cards, cakes and gifts. Love, hugs, kisses and phone calls home are just some of the ways people will pay tribute to their mothers on Mother's Day. Sometimes you here people complain that Mothers Day in to superficial. On the other hand people feel it as and obligation and still others are just happy to have a chance to honor their mothers.

Mothers' day in America is celebrated on the second Sunday of May along with Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, and Australia. There are over 46 countries that honor Mothers with a special day. Although Mothers Day in England is celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent Mothers Day is always internationally on May 11th.

Even though most of us celebrate Mothers Day how many of us spare a thought for how our celebrations of Mother's Day originated? The First celebration in honor of mothers was held in Ancient Greece during the Spring. This was to pay tribute to Rhea, The Mother of the Gods. She was the Titan of "Earth and fertility."

"...And since both earth (Gaia) and sky(Uranus) foretold him (Chronos) that he would be dethroned by his own son, he used to swallow his offspring at birth... enraged at this, Rhea repaired to Crete, when she was big with Zeus, and brought him forth in a cave of Dicte. She gave him to the Curetes and to the Nymphs... to nurse. So these Nymphs fed the child on the milk of Amalthea (the Goat)... but Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to Chronos to swallow..." (Apollodorus, Bibliotheca I.I.5-7)

In Roman Times the most significant Mother's Day-like festival was dedicated to the worship of Cybele, another mother goddess. Ceremonies in her honor began some 250 years before Christ was born. This Roman religious celebration. Known as Hilaria, lasted for three days- from March 16-18.

A little more like our modern celebrations of Mother's Day is England's "Mothering Sunday". Mothering Sunday is also called Mid-Lent Sunday and is observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent. Some say that Mothering Sunday originated out of the Roman ceremonies in honor of Cybele. The church adopting Mothering Sunday as an occasion to venerate Mary the Mother of Christ. Others believe that the Mother Church was substituted for mother goddess and custom began to dictate that a person visit the church of his or her baptism on this day. People attended the mother church of their parish, laden with offerings.

During the 1600`s young men and women who were servant s and apprentices returned home on Mothering Sunday to bring their mother small gifts such as a "mothering cake." In Northern England and in Scotland, the preferred refreshments were carlings- pancakes made of steeped peace fried in butter. In fact in some places this day was even called Carling Sunday.

The idea of a national Mothers Day actually began in the United Stares during the 1870`s. But rather than an idea for children to honor their mothers it was a plea from Julia Ward Howe for mothers from around the world to rally together and ends the war. Julia Howe declared a Mother's Peace Day however her suggestions never quite gaining the popularity. It was possibly deserved it deserved tough signs of it continue to reverberate in modern times. Julia Ward Howe was also the author of the lyrics for "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and also a leader in the abolitionist and women's suffrage movements.

Some Motherly Advice...

Always change your underwear; you never know when you'll have an accident.

Don't make that face or it'll freeze in that position.

Be careful or you'll put your eye out.

What if everyone jumped off a cliff? Would you do it, too?

You have enough dirt behind those ears to grow potatoes!

Close that door! Were you born in a barn?

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.

Don't put that in your mouth; you don't know where it's been!