三毛曾寫過一篇《守望的天使》，文章說，每個人生命中最真最誠的天使是自己的父母，天使終其一生舍盡全力來為自己的孩子擋風遮雨。在猶太人的諺語里，也有一句類似的表述，而且更為精辟：God could not be everywhere and therefore be made mothers. 母親節來臨之際，首先讓我們了解母親節來歷，并用心寫上最為樸實的祝福：母親節快樂！

Mother's Day History 母親節由來

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.

母親節的歷史可以追溯到幾百年前的古希臘，當時，人們都會舉行慶祝活動紀念Rhea（瑞亞），（古希臘的眾神之母，她是主神宙斯和天后赫拉的母親）。早期的基督徒在大齋節的第四個星期日節日慶祝母親節來紀念Mary（基督的母親）。有趣的是，宗教秩序的改革使得這一節日包括了全體的母親，并將這一日命名為“母親節”。后來，在美國定居的英國殖民者由于缺少時間停止了這項傳統。1872年朱麗婭伍德霍夫以致力于和平為母親們設立一個節日。這是母親節在歷史上的里程碑。

In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Anna's mother. Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, the white incarnations, on the occasion as they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

1907年，一位費城教師，安娜米賈維斯（1864-1948），開始了一項在全國范圍內紀念母親的的節日，安娜米賈維斯榮譽日。她征求了數以百計的立法者和商界翹楚一起來創立一個特殊的日子來紀念母親。第一個母親節慶祝表彰是在一個教堂為安娜母親舉辦的。安娜在儀式上發放了她母親最喜愛的白色花朵，這是甜蜜，純潔，耐心的化身。安娜的努力終于在1914年得到了回報，時任總統伍德羅威爾遜宣布將五月的第二個星期天作為母親節。

Slowly and gradually the Mother's day became very popular and gift giving activity increased. All this commercialization of the Mother's day infuriated Anna as she believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.

漸漸地，母親節變得非常流行，送禮活動日趨增加。所有這一切商業化的活動激怒了安娜，她認為這一天的情緒都被貪婪和利益所玷污了。

Regardless of Jarvis's worries, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. Actually, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Although Anna may not be with us but the Mother's day lives on and has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

盡管Jarvis對此很擔憂，但母親節已盛行于美國。事實上，這一天已成為一年當中最受歡迎的日子了。雖然安娜現在已不在我們身邊了，但母親節成立了而且已蔓延到世界各國。世界上的許多國家都在一年的不同時期慶祝著母親節，但如丹麥，芬蘭，意大利，土耳其，澳大利亞和比利時等還是在第五月第二個周日慶祝母親節。

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（來源：滬江英語? 編輯：Julie）