Growing up every child forms a natural bond with their mother that comes from the nourishment and care they receive from her. A mother is that person who bears the child inside her for 9 whole months, enduring all pain, sacrificing her body, in order to give birth to a new life.
So, in order to celebrate such a phenomenal character we have in all our lives, our beloved mothers, International Mother’s Day was created on the 10th of May. Many believe that mother’s day was creates with reference to Virgin Mary, who was the mother of Jesus Christ.
Catholic families and churches consider Mother Mary to be a holy entity and worship her as the universal symbol for ideal motherhood. Mother’s day is one such day that is celebrated worldwide, as every where we travel, the role played by all of our mothers is undeniable and indispensable.
However keeping aside the very popular and straight forward aspect of celebrating Mother’s Day, one must also take into consideration the more unconventional ideas of motherhood. Motherhood is not a narrow lane. It is not gender orientated, status oriented, or relationship oriented.
Motherhood can very well be represented as a state of mind. It is not necessary that Mother’s Day can only be celebrated with our mothers, signifying only those women who biologically gave birth to us. This is because Human relationships are not governed by theoretical or anatomical logic, instead they revolve around much deeper, delicate sensibilities and feelings.
The essence of Motherhood
A mother is therefore, on a wider spectrum, that human being who cares for us and nurtures us, preparing us for life. We see that not every family is simple. In some families, children have lost their birth mothers at a young age and have been brought up completely by their fathers.
In such families the child should celebrate Mother’s Day with his or her father, for he had played the role of both a mother and a father in their lives.
He had provided for them both financially and emotionally, and have tried to make them feel like their family is complete. For such commendable effort every such father should be celebrated on Mother’s Day, and their hard work should not go unnoticed or undermined.
Some women are physically incapable of bearing children. The patriarchal society often looks down upon such poor women as worthless, subjecting them to intense humiliation. However, nowadays with improved scientific advancements, it is possible for even physically incapable women to have children of their own, through Invitro-fertilisation.
These women should also be celebrated worldwide, and they provide the same amount of love to their children, and support them in their endeavours, just like every biological mother does.
Same goes for those women around the would who have done the noble deed of adopting children, from orphanages or provided a home to an abandoned child. Motherhood is a personal choice, and whether a woman would bear a biological child, or adopt one is her own personal choice.
Hence Mother’s Day is also a shout out to all those mothers who have adopted a child and provided a home and unconditional love to an underprivileged child.
1998 Miss Universe winner and celebrated Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen, broke societal norms when she debated her way to become a single mother of two adopted baby girls. Sushmita is a woman of strong character, and she had realised early on in her life that marriage was not her cup of tea.
Despite that, motherhood was something she longed to experience. She fought the long drawn legal battle of adoption as a single parent , bravely, and emerged victorious in the end. According to her, every woman who is physically, mentally, financially and emotionally capable of bringing up children, has the right to do so.
It doesn’t matter whether they are married or have a male partner in their lives to support them, since such a scenario does not automatically ensure the safe and secured upbringing of a child. Hence even single mothers should be celebrated and respected world wide and shouldn’t be subjected to baseless questions by the society. Mother’s Day should aim to celebrate every such single mother, fighting against the world to bring up her children.
A very popular advertisement that went viral on the internet was of an Indian brand Vicks, featuring a transgender woman who among various societal adversities brings up an adopted baby girl. It is the true story of the protagonist, Gauri, who is a transgender woman from India, who became the first ever trans woman in India to adopt a child.
She is also intimately associated with several NGO organisations in India, and is a human and transgender rights activist. Although looked down upon by society, as human beings we should break these worthless narrow minded norms of our society and celebrate such strong, endearing personalities on Mother’s Day.
Celebrations of Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is celebrated in a very individualistic and homely way, due to the bond it upholds. Children around the world buy presents and make greetings card for their mothers on this day so as to portray their love for them. Mother’s Day is also celebrated at school by arranging interactive sessions in between the students and their mothers, such as story telling sessions, go as you like it, cultural programs or creative programs where the students are encouraged to make something dedicated to their mothers on this day.
On this day shopping malls and websites offer rewards, free gifts, offers and discounts on women’s clothing and accessories, so as to celebrate Mother’s Day. Special telecasts on television and radio are also made on this day dedicated to mothers around the world, such as movies based on motherhood, or talk shows on the same topic.
Mother’s Day was first celebrated in the year 1908 by a woman named Anna Jarvis. Anna’s mother was a peace activist who while she was still living and breathing used to nurse injured soldiers who were battling with their lives at stake in the American Civil War.
She held a memorial at a church dedicated to her mother after her unfortunate death in 1905. Anna took to the first initiative to celebrate Mother’s Day as an international event from 1908 in the United States after her mother’s death which later spread to the rest of the world.
However in the beginning her initiative was turned down by the government. It was not before 1911 that United States finally recognised Mother’s Day as a celebrated holiday.
Why Mother’s Day is celebrated
The first President of the United States, the great Mr. Abraham Lincoln had said “ I remember by mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life “, proving that even truly great people feel grateful towards their mothers, and the undeniable role they have played in their lives which had moulded them as a person and made them capable of such great achievements.
It shows that the love of a mother is the kind of love that is rare and unadulterated. It is devoid of any selfish reason and is the purest form of love that exists in this world. Oscar winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio stated “ My mother is a walking miracle”. Truly all mothers are no less than a miracle.
They do all the household chores, teach the children and even work in the office. They know about the location of every single commodity in the house, remember all the important dates and make it all look so effortless. A Mother is also that person who stays up late at night helping her child with his studies, and spend sleepless nights tending to her child when he falls ill.
Therefor it is essential to recognise the ability of a mother and be grateful for their love and sacrifices. Often in life people take their mother for granted, since no matter how they behave or how they treat them, a mother can never get herself to leave her child’s side. She almost blindly and fiercely supports him or her through every phase in their life.
As children it is our solemn duty to not take advantage of such unadulterated love and instead celebrate Mother’s Day not just on the 10th of May, but every single day, recognising the importance of mothers all around the world and providing them with the validation and affection that they so truly deserve.
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