Remembering at least once a year that mothers are special<\/p>\n
By Mehru Jaffer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Five-year-old Rena does not know why she loves
\nher mother, she just does. "Very, very much," says the tiny tot.
\nAsep, 19, a Sundanese from a poor rural family of seven, works as
\na house boy in a Jakarta home. His desire is to earn as much
\nmoney as he can and to give it all to his mother in the hope that
\nshe does not have to toil from dawn to dusk.<\/p>\n
Geoff, a teenaged Singaporean studying here, would like his
\nmother to know that despite all the disagreements and arguments,
\nshe is always in his heart. Geoff plans to use Mother's Day,
\ncelebrated on the second Sunday of May each year almost the world
\nover, to convey this message once more to his mother.<\/p>\n
Thousands of years ago, before patriarchal society brainwashed
\nthe world into believing that the supreme deity is a male, people
\nworshiped a great goddess, the mother of all creation, who is
\nstill known by different names in different parts of the world
\nand associated with the moon, the earth and fertility.<\/p>\n
She is called Aset in Egypt; Artemis, Cybele, Demeter and Rhea
\nin Greece; Amaterasu in Japan, Astarte in Mesopotamia; Freyja in
\nNorway; Hina in the Oceanic region; Mati-Syra-Zeml in Slavic
\ncountries, Dorje Pahmo in Tibet; and Devi, Durga and Kali in
\nIndia.<\/p>\n
Today, homage continues to be paid to the mother in different
\ncountries, at different times of the year and in different ways.
\nGifts are given, such as the gold products offered by Gold Mart.<\/p>\n
In India, the festival of Durga is held in early October to
\nhonor the divine mother with 10 arms, which she uses to keep the
\ndemons at bay who threaten to destroy the universe. The numerous
\narms of the goddess symbolize the multiple tasks that women still
\nperform, often simultaneously, and bring back to memory an
\nancient Jewish proverb that says that God could not be everywhere
\nand, therefore, he made mothers.<\/p>\n
In Japan, Mother's Day is also celebrated on the second Sunday
\nin May like in the U.S. Shuhei, 13, does not know when the
\ncelebrations are but he is sure that his father will remind him.
\nShuhei's family does not allow his mother to cook on Mother's
\nDay. "We do all the cooking for that one day to thank our mother
\nwho works so hard for us every day," he said.<\/p>\n
Amadou, 12, from Senegal, learned about Mother's Day when he
\nlived in Canada before moving to Jakarta. The teachers at school
\nasked the students to make handicrafts for their respective
\nmothers. "My mother is really nice to me. Even on Mother's Day I
\ncan invite friends to the house and she will cook special food
\nfor us," said Amadou.<\/p>\n
Ayu loves her mother because she is beautiful to look at. "She
\nis so amazing that if I tell even a small lie she seems to know I
\nam not telling the truth. I am able to tell my mother so many
\nthings I would never dream of telling my father," says the
\nteenager.<\/p>\n
Jana remembers her mother telephoning her own mother in
\nGermany every Mother's Day. "Although I love my mother all the
\ntime I try to be extra sweet to her on Mother's Day," says the
\n12-year-old.<\/p>\n
In parts of Yugoslavia, Mother's Day is observed two weeks
\nbefore Christmas, when boys and girls tiptoe into their mother's
\nroom very early in the morning and tie her up. The mother
\npretends to be surprised at being tied up and begs her children
\nto untie her, promising to give them little gifts hidden under
\nher pillow. In Indonesia, Mother's Day falls in December like in
\nboth Spain and Portugal, where the later two countries pay
\ntribute to the Virgin Mary. However, Hari Ibu, as it is known in
\nIndonesia is not strictly Mother's Day but Women's Day.<\/p>\n
Modern-day celebrations can be traced back to Anna Jarvis, who
\nwas a year old when the Civil War ended in America in 1865 but
\nthe hatred among families in West Virginia was still ugly and
\nstrong. Anna grew up hearing her mother say that if families
\nhonored their mother on a special day the fighting and hatred
\namong Americans would end.<\/p>\n
After her mother's death, Anna promised to make her dream come
\ntrue. She was responsible for getting a special Mother's Day
\nservice held on May 12, 1907, in the local church. The hope was
\nthat children would remember to express appreciation for their
\nmothers in her lifetime and the celebrations would increase
\nrespect for parents and strengthen family bonds.<\/p>\n
Today, it is remembered in the U.S. as the country's first
\nMother's Day celebration. By 1911, every state had its own
\nobservance, and the Mother's Day International Association was
\nincorporated on December 12 the following year.<\/p>\n
Anna decorated the celebrations with countless carnations, her
\nmother's favorite flower. Over the years, white carnations were
\nused to honor dead mothers and represent the sweetness, purity
\nand endurance of a mother's love. Red carnations are a symbol of
\na living mother. In Sweden, shortly before Mother's Day, the
\nSwedish Red Cross sells tiny plastic flowers, the money from
\nwhich is used to finance vacations for mothers with many
\nchildren.<\/p>\n
The ways might be varied, but the sentiment remains the same
\naround the world to thank mother for everything, most of all for
\nmaking it possible for everyone to be here.<\/p>",
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