Mother’s Day: From Pagan Origins to Modern Celebrations by Judith Shaw

On May 12th families will gather together in the United States to celebrate another Mother’s Day. This is a good time to reflect on mothers, motherhood and why we take a day to celebrate our mothers.  

When Goddess was worshiped as the supreme deity, many cultures around the world dedicated a festival to their Mother Goddess, symbol of all mothers and she who birthed the world. One of the most ancient Mother Goddesses is Isis, Mother of the Pharaohs and thus Mother of Egypt. Her birth was celebrated in August with the Festival of Lights, in which the entire town or city lit oil lamps that burned the whole night long. A similar ceremony persisted 800 years later in 4th century C.E. Rome, to where Isis worship had migrated.

The Greek Goddess, Gaia gave birth to the world after springing forth from the vast emptiness of Chaos. She birthed Uranus, the Starry Sky who then became her husband. Together they created the first pantheon of deities, the twelve Titans. 

Over time her worship transferred to her daughter Rhea, venerated as the Mother Goddess. The center of her worship was on the island of Crete. Rhea’s festivals were filled with wild chanting and dancing, accompanied by flutes and the tympanon, a handheld drum, intended to induce religious ecstasy. 

The Roman’s honored their Mother Goddess, Cybele —most likely derived from Rhea — on the Ides of March. 

Yemayá, an ancient African Goddess who migrated to Brazil, Cuba and Haiti with the slave trade, was worshipped as a Mother Goddess. Her most ancient and full name, Yeyé Omo Ejá, means “Mother whose Children are the Fish.” She rules over the Seven Seas and large lakes. Her domain is the upper waters of the ocean, where life originated and continues to be concentrated.

Yemayá is celebrated with flowers, fruit and seashells. The worship of Yemayá is alive and well in Brazil where locals and practitioners of the Candomblé religion gather on the beach on New Years Eve to honor her with fireworks, music and offerings of flowers thrown into the sea. 

The Celts honored Brigid on Imbolc (February 2) as the Goddess of Hearth and Home. In the Celtic calendar this day was viewed as the first day of spring and the return of light and fertility.

By the 16th century in England the pagan festivities gave way to the Christian version of venerating the Mother Goddess. The English dedicated the fourth Sunday of Lent to the Virgin Mary. Where a villager was baptized was called their Mother Church. It was adorned with jewels and flowers on this day.

In the 17th century a clerical decree extended the celebration, for the first time ever, to include individual mothers. This day became known as Mothering Day. In recognition of the love and compassion mothers exhibit, Mothering Day offered a level of compassion to the working classes which had not been seen before. On this day, servants and trade workers were given the free time to travel to their  home villages and visit their families, offering a bright spot of joy and festivity during the fasting and penance of Lent. All across England families gathered together to enjoy a family feast and present cakes and flowers to their mothers. But in the New World of the American colonies this day fell by the wayside, deemed frivolous by the stern Puritans. 

Our modern American Mother’s Day has its roots in war reconciliation efforts and peace movements spearheaded by women in the late 19th century. In 1868 Ann Reeves Jarvis organized “Mother’s Friendship Day,” during which mothers gathered together with former Union and Confederate soldiers to foster reconciliation. 

Then, in 1870, the abolitionist and suffragette, Julia Ward Howe, published the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” calling all mothers to unite in promoting world peace. Her campaign began in 1873 for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated yearly on June 2. 

By 1912 many states, towns and churches had established Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, Finally in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. But Julia Ward Howe was disgusted by the holiday’s quick commercialization. By 1920 she had denounced the holiday. She urged people to stop buying flowers, cards and candies and instead to focus on peace.

Now Mother’s Day is celebrated worldwide, with traditions and dates varying greatly. It has become one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending in the United States, where families gather for a festive meal and give cards, flowers, and candy to their mothers. Yet Ward Howe’s influence is till felt, as Mother’s Day occasionally serves as a day to launch political causes concerning peace, equality and women’s rights. 

Mothers have been the glue that holds the world together with love since the beginning of human life on Earth. Not every woman can or wants to be a mother — Julia Ward Howe had no children herself. But the energy of mothering – a fearless energy of loving, nurturing, protecting, and compassionate caring is within us all – even men.

How will you celebrate Mother’s Day this year? I plan to place my oracle card of Brigid on my altar, light a candle, and say a prayer for peace. Then, most likely I’ll head on out to a nice meal with my son and daughter-in-law and her family — celebrating the mothers in our little family group. Maybe we’ll even play some music and dance together in recognition of the amazing gift of life we have all received from our mothers. Happy Mother’s Day to you all.

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