LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, May 8, 2015

Fridays Are Golden


It's definitely spring here in the mountains.  All sorts of wildflowers bloom along the trails.  The oak pollen is coating everything and people who have never had allergies before are sneezing with watery eyes.  So in spite of the wonderful weather, we must keep our windows closed and turn on the air conditioner.  Bummer.

We don't eat a lot of chips and snacks, so whenever a plastic bag is opened our optimistic Lucy always assumes it means a new bag of treats for her.  She runs into the kitchen and sits quietly waiting for something good to happen.


Oh, I can hardly wait!  But if I get too excited they will scold me and I really hate that.
So I'll sit here like a good girl.

 Sometimes she is lucky and the bag does contain a treat for her.  Other times she is disappointed as the bag fills a bowl and nothing is offered to her.



 Can you guess which was the case?


Sunday is Mother's Day here in the US.  Despite modern-day appearances, it was not begun as one of those "greeting card holidays."  Although suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe, the real roots of Mother's Day in the United States began as one woman's tribute to her mother and to other mothers around the country in 1908.  Anna Jarvis pushed hard to have Mother's Day declared an official holiday.  In 1914, President Theodore Roosevelt, despite vigorous opposition from some Senators (all male), declared the second Sunday is May to be celebrated as a national holiday to honor mothers in the United  States.

When florists and greeting card companies, most notably Hallmark, started commercializing Mother's Day in the early 1920s, Anna Jarvis was furious.  She was so angry with what she saw as exploitation of the holiday that she spent years attempting to have the holiday rescinded.  At one time she was arrested for protesting at a candy company.  But World War II boosted the commercialism with soldiers sending flowers, cards, and gifts to their mothers at home.  The candy, flower, and card companies spread the idea that good sons would remember their mothers by sending these products.  And thereby boost their sales.

Mother's Day has an even older history in many other countries.  In the UK "Mothering Sunday" was celebrated as early as the 1600s.  It was on the fourth Sunday of Lent.  Ancient Romans had celebrations for specific mother goddesses more than 200 years BC.

So while we can never escape the ubiquitous commercialism of the day, we can all be thankful for our mothers, loving the ones who are still living and honoring those who have died.






HAVE A MOST WONDERFUL AND SAFE WEEKEND, EVERYONE

 

10 comments:

Cheryl said...

Beautiful Lucy....I almost felt I should give her a treat :)

Happy mothers day.....

We indeed celebrated in early Spring.........

NanaNor's said...

Your Lucy is so beautiful; I love her expressions. I didn't know the origin of Mother's Day, so thanks for sharing. Here in Colorado, our weather has been so weird-we are having continual rain; makes it feel like we live in Oregon or Washington.
Have a great day!
Noreen

Arkansas Patti said...

That was interesting. I was unaware of the origin. It has gotten so commercial but I still take the time to remember the two mothers I was lucky to have.
Thank you for the Lucy pics. She is so pretty and does expectant so well.

Ms. A said...

Happy Mother's Day!

The Bug said...

It is beautiful up here, but I sneezed while I was reading your post :)

I was reflecting earlier today that Mother's Day isn't nearly as painful as it has been. This is my 10th Mother's Day without my mom & I'm a little more philosophical & not as devastated...

Lowcarb team member said...

Many thanks for the brief history of Mothers Day. We celebrated ours earlier this year (I'm in the UK) but wherever you are it is always good to say a special thank you to our mum and remember those mums who are no longer with us.

Hope you have a good weekend

All the best Jan

Anonymous said...

I like reading the history of Mother's Day. Sure would be nice if things could stay simple and not get so commercialized. But it is always lovely to take the time to celebrate our mothers.

Happy Mother's Day!

troutbirder said...

Most interesting history and one more point for Theodore on a long list of many. Perhaps I should send it to a Tea Party acquaintance of mine who surely must have a mother. He told me that Teddy was a RHINO and the worst President ever. That was back when I was still talking to him. Of course I should mention both me and my fathers middle name was Theordore...:)

Mary Lee said...

Hmmm. I love the idea of being a mother goddess.

Look at Google's little tribute to moms on Google.com today. So sweet!

Happy Mother's Day to you, fellow mother goddess.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.