Mother's Day
The Mother's Day is a public holiday in honor of mother and motherhood. He has established itself in the Western world since the 20th century. In German-speaking countries and many other countries, it takes place on the second Sunday in May.
History
The Mother's Day has its origins in the English and American women's movement. The American Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis tried in 1865 a movement called mothers Mothers Day Friendships to set up. An organized by her Mothers Day Meetings mothers could exchange views on current issues. 1870 mothers - Peace Initiative under the slogan peace and was started by Julia Ward Howe motherhood. She had the goal that the children should not be sacrificed in wars.
Originating in the USA
As the founder of the modern Mother's Day however, is to Methodist Anna Marie Jarvis, the daughter of Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. It held in Grafton on May 12, 1907, the Sunday after the second anniversary of the death of her mother, a Memorial Day Mothers meeting. The following year was devoted to her urging, turn on the second Sunday in the Methodist Church in Grafton to all mothers devotions. 500 white carnations let her hand out to express her love for her deceased mother in front of the local church to other mothers.
She devoted herself fulltime to the goal of creating an official Mother's Day, and launched an initiative for the introduction of an official holiday in honor of mothers, by writing letters to politicians, businessmen, clerics and women's associations. The movement grew very rapidly. In 1909 the Mother's Day was celebrated in 45 states of the USA. 1912 brought him the Methodists in West Virginia. On 8 May 1914, the U.S. Congress passed the Joint Resolution Designating the Second Sunday in May as Mother's Day: As a sign of love and devotion to the mothers of the 2nd Sunday should be celebrated in May as Mother's Day. The President of the United States should let fly flags on this day the public buildings; this will of Congress has acted upon in the same year Woodrow Wilson. Thus the Mother in 1914 was first celebrated as a national holiday.
With increasing dissemination and commercialization of Mother's Day, the founder of the holiday turned from the movement from, regretted to have this set up, and fought unsuccessfully for the abolition of a holiday.
Beginnings of international distribution
The movement was not confined to the United States. As early as 1912 a Mother's Day International Association was founded with the goal of spreading the Mother and internationally. After England had taken over the mothering day, the holiday spread in 1917 in Switzerland, 1918 in Finland and Norway, 1919 in Sweden, in 1923 in Germany and 1924 in Austria.
Switzerland
Two groups took the initiative for the introduction of Mother's Day in Switzerland: the Unions Chrétiennes de Jeunes Gens de la Suisse Romande and the Salvation Army. The former published their call as early as 1914 in their club organ, in which they explicitly appealed to the Anglo-Saxon model; they encountered in the French-speaking Switzerland at Reformed pastors on a certain echo, but could in German Switzerland not gain a foothold with its initiative. The Salvation Army adopted for the first time in the summer of 1917 a call for commission of a sacred day for the mother, who emphasized the religious justification for such honor.
Both initiatives were successful in their respective institutions, remained until the twenties into restricted to small circles. Then the Swiss associations of the florists began ( inspired by their German counterparts ), the master gardeners and master confectioner to get involved in the Mother's Day. They made in the central and in local committees, who propagated the Mother's Day, with, however, remained in the public more in the background. The public calls were signed by ethically -minded individuals in public life. About the press, leaflets, radio, the windows of the professionals involved in the Mother's Day for the second Sunday in May 1930 was propagated, and thus came the breakthrough.
Germany
In Germany, the Mother's Day 1922/23, was established by the Association of German flower shop owner with posters " Honor the mother " in the windows and - emphasizes apolitical - celebrated as a day of flowers wishes. With posters in shop windows, smaller campaigns and events to Mother's Day Poetry Germany's first Mother's Day on May 13, 1923, the way was by the chairman of the association, Rudolf Knauer, prepares. As of 1926, the propagation of the Mother's Day was transferred to the Working Group for people health improvement, in order to " win church and school and to bring the government then to determine the Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May as a public holiday ."
During the time of National Socialism, the celebration of Mother's Day has been associated with the idea of " Germanic master race ". Especially mothers of large families were celebrated as heroes of the people, as they should promote the "Aryan offspring ". 1933 Mother's Day was declared a public holiday and first celebrated on 3 May Sunday in 1934 as " Commemorative and special day of German mothers " with the introduction of the Reich mothers service in the realm of female managers. The seemingly religious celebrations ( "Mothers ordinations " ) were made up in competition with Christian celebrations on Sunday at 10 a clock. 1938, the Cross of Honor of the German Mother was introduced, in addition, that was awarded on Mother's Day on May 21, 1939 for the first time.
In the GDR, Mother's Day was not officially committed, instead of the International Women's Day was celebrated on March 8.
The second Sunday in May, 1949 May 8 Thus, the Mother's Day 1949 was still held in the Western Allied trizone. The Federal Republic of Germany was founded 15 days later on 23 May 1949 with the promulgation of the Basic Law celebrated her first Mother's therefore only 1950. The non - statutory holiday has with respect to the sale of flowers a special position. So can remain open flower shops on this day in most cases. In Baden- Württemberg, this is not true when the Mother falls on a legal holiday, such as in 2008, on Pentecost Sunday.
The Mother's Day is not enshrined in law, but its date is based on conventions of trade associations. The florists ' associations have the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day set, which means that Pentecost Sunday and Mother's Day fall on the same day when Easter is celebrated at the latest on 26 March. Last to hit the for the years 1978, 1989 and 2008. Because some jurisdictions laws prohibit the shop opening on Whit Sunday, must - so it was decided by the German retail 1949 - in such cases, an alternate date will be sought. In 2007, therefore, a discussion broke out between German retail and calendar publishers. The discussion ended after a long back and forth so that the Mother's Day 2008 quite regularly on the second Sunday in May, so took the Pentecost Sunday. The decision came for some calendar publishers but too late for so many calendar for the year 2008 had entered the Mother incorrectly on May 4.
Austria
In Austria, the founder of the women's movement Marianne Hainisch is regarded as the initiator of Mother's Day, which was introduced as President during the second term of her son Michael Hainisch. Together with the Scout movement, she was involved in the introduction of Mother's Day in Austria, which was then celebrated from 1924. In the Greater German Reich from 1938, the celebrations have been promoted by the state (→ Germany ).
Economic Importance
In the U.S., the financial expenditure for the Mother's Day will be surpassed only by Christmas. According to estimates by the National Retail Federation 139 U.S. dollars are spent per donee mother on average.
According to the HDE every German spends an average of 25 euros for Mother 's Day gifts. Although the trend is towards tangible gifts, mostly flowers are still given away. Thus, in the Mother's Day up to 130 million euros in sales are made with cut flowers.
For Mother's Day, the biggest sales of the year are achieved ( before Valentine's Day ) in the flower trade.
The commercialization of the day was sharply criticized, among others by its founder Anna Marie Jarvis.