 And, once again, the Greeks seem to have set things going by paying tribute to Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, who was seen as the Titan of “Earth and Fertility”, being both sister and wife to the Titan.
Well, that’s what mythology tells us but, as you will read later, the day as we best know it came out of the United States.
While there are those who complain that Mother’s Day is too commercialised, others will observe the celebrations as a matter of obligation, but many more thankfully will be grateful for the chance to express to their mothers warm and genuine feelings of love and appreciation.
There are an estimated 46 countries in the world that honour Mother’s Day as something special, however, not all celebrate it on the same date.
In Australia, the United States, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey and Belgium it is celebrated on the second Sunday in May but, in England, for example, it is always the fourth Sunday of Lent.
It is also suggested that in some countries Mother’s Day began not as a celebration for individual mothers, but rather for Christians.
All the above aside, the idea of a national Mother’s Day actually began in the United States during the 1870s.
It is generally thought that the idea for our prevailing Mother’s Day celebrations began with American Anna Jarvis, although Anna herself was never married.
It is said that Anna often heard her mother talk of establishing a memorial for all mothers, living or dead.
Mrs Jarvis’ passion continued and upon her death Anna began an intense campaign to fulfil that dream, but it wasn’t until the third anniversary of her mother’s death that the national day could be regarded as getting off the ground.
One of the biggest supporters for the day was the Episcopal Church.
And today, of course, our churches will conduct specially suitable services on the big day.
 Naturally enough flowers are a big part of the day, and carnations – red for living parents, and white for the deceased - are worn world wide as symbols of the purity, strength and endurance of motherhood.
Incidentally, the carnation’s botanical name is dianthus which is from the Greek meaning “dios” or divine - and did you know they are edible are they are often used in salads.
Then in 1901 the floristry industry capitalised on the concept, a factor which caused Anna considerable grief. She even filed a lawsuit to try and stop the capitalisation of the special day and was quoted as saying “this is not what I intended, I want it to be a day of sentiment not profit”.
Today, of course, capitalisation is rife, and yet generally speaking it is a day when we do honour our mums.
And, if you haven’t already done it, this is an opportunity to sit mum down and get her to tell you about your ancestry and how you grew up.
The quiet achiever
Personally, while my mum has passed on I will spend much of the day reflecting on her quiet way of going about things and giving thanks for her patience and offering me the right directions in life.
We will all have different impressions of our mums, but there is no doubting most of them had a quietening influence around the home, and they were good listeners.
Today, of course, in the more hectic world we live in dominated by information technology, TV and the like, mothers are in the main more likely to have a job, so Sunday, though welcome, might not be as relaxed as in the past.
So, come this Sunday, the commercialisation of the day will continue with sweet shops and florists doing themselves nicely, and the restaurants will overflow with special family functions.
Several confectionery and florist shops tell me that an ever popular Mum’s Day present is flowers, a small bottle of champagne and some more expensive chocolates.
And then there’s the increase in the number of Mums being given the chance of a thrill of a lifetime by jumping from a plane and floating slowly to earth at Stuart Park.
Nevertheless, whatever is planned the day will retain its special meaning, and we wish all Mums both young and old a happy time spent with the kids and grandchildren, no matter where the celebration will take place. | 
