千般母愛母愛，一個溫暖而又親切的詞語，母愛，點燃了我生命的燭光;照亮了我前進的道路，珍惜母愛，何之不為?

　　History of Mother′s Day

　　In the U.S. Mothers' Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards， gifts， and flowers. First observance in Philadelphia， Pa. in 1907， it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and by Anna Jarvis in 1907.

　　Although it wasn't celebrated in the U.S. until 1907， there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days， however， it was Rhea， the Mother of the gods that was given honor.

　　Later， in the 1600's， in England there was an annual observance called "Mothering Sunday." It was celebrated during June， on the fourth Sunday. On Mothering Sunday， the servants， who generally lived with their employers， were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion.

　　In the U.S.， in 1907 Ana Jarvis， from Philadelphia， began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton， West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death， the 2nd Sunday of May. The next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

　　Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers， businessmen， and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. They were successful. President Woodrow Wilson， in 1914， made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national observance that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

　　Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark， Finland， Italy， Turkey， Australia， and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May， as in the U.S.

　　母親節的由來

　　母親節是美國法定的全國性節日。在每年5月的第二個星期日舉行。為母親過節最早源于古希臘的民間風俗。那時，古希臘人每年春天都要為傳說中的眾神之母、人類母親的象征--賽比亞舉行盛大的慶祝活動。但這時還未形成母親節。母親節是由一位名叫賈維斯的婦女倡導，并由她的女兒安娜·賈維斯發起創立的。

　　賈維斯夫人是一個有著10個子女的母親，是當時美國格拉夫頓城教會主日學校的總監。在美國以解放黑奴為目的的南北戰爭結束后，她在學校里負責講述美國國殤紀念日的課程。賈維斯是一位心地善良，極富同情心的女人。她講述著戰爭中那一個個為正義捐軀的英雄的故事，望著臺下那一張張充滿稚氣的孩子們的臉，一個想法猛然涌上心頭：為祖國貢獻了這么多英勇戰士，保證了戰爭勝利的，不就是那一個個含辛茹苦地撫育著子女的母親們嗎?

　　她們的兒子血染疆場，承受了最大的痛苦和犧牲的，不也是這些默默無聞的母親嗎?因此，她提出應該設立一個紀念日或母親節，給這些平凡的女人一些慰藉，表達兒女們對母親的孝思。可惜的是，這個良好的愿望還沒有實現，賈維斯夫人便與世長辭了。她的女兒安娜·賈維斯目睹母親撫養自己和兄弟姐妹成人的辛勞，深感母親的提議是適合天理人心的。因此，她寫出了幾十封信，發給美國國會。地方州長和婦女組織等，提議創立母親節。在她的一再呼吁下，這一提議得到了社會上的廣泛響應和支持。

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