2 ON THE COVER EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 7 ISSUE 40 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 11-12, 2014
CELEBRATING MOTHER’S DAY A time to honor the ‘light of our households’
By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
T
abf@edgedavao.net
hEIR love and sacrifice started even before we are conceived. They take care of our health for us to be born normal. They gamble their life, feeling the pain just to deliver us and be born. But, the duty of being a mother is not done by giving birth as lots of responsibilities of our mothers lie ahead in every step of our lives.
After we grow into our infancy and early childhood, our mother become our best friend every time we are in trouble, always there comforting us while we are in pain. They are our lifetime teachers, giving us everyday lessons as we tack the life we have chosen even we become already an adult. That is what is called a motherly love. A Filipina mother is described as “light of every household,” around which all activities revolve. In Filipino culture, it is the object of filial piety. For Regional Trial
Court Branch 11 Judge Virginia H. Europa, a mother two, the duty of being a mother is not just providing the needs of the children but also ensuring that they become upright and good citizen of the country by teaching them the commandments of God and the basic tenets of morality. “Bringing your children a right way that they become a good citizens and children of God – that’s the essence of being a mother,” she emphasized. Europa said in an interview with Edge Davao that as a woman court judge for 20 years, she emphasized the great challenge
as a mother because aside from her work in handling and deciding cases, there is a need to attend her families and household. Despite of her busy job, she has managed to accomplish her duty as a mother. Even as her children already got married, Europa said she is still playing the duty of being a mother to her five grand children. As we celebrate, Mother’s Day today, Edge Davao pays tribute to the ‘light of our households,’ honoring mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in our society and
the entire humanity. The mothersdaycelebration.com said that the origin of this celebration came from the ancient Greek and Roman Civilization. The ancient annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to maternal goddesses. They used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus (god of time) and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology. The ancient Romans also celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. It may be noted that ceremonies in honor of Cybele began some 250 years before Christ was born. But, the roots of Mother’s Day history can also be traced in United Kingdom where a Mothering Sunday was celebrated much before the festival saw the light of the day in United States. However, the celebration of the festival as it is seen today is a recent
phenomenon and not even a hundred years old. The idea of Julia Ward Howe suggested that the official celebration of Mothers day in US in 1872. Howe is an activist, writer and poet she shot to fame with her famous Civil War song, “Battle Hymn of the Republic”. Julia Ward Howe suggested that June 2 be annually celebrated as Mothers Day and should be dedicated to peace. Then, Anna Jarvis is recognized as the founder of Mothers Day in US in 1905. Though she never married and never had kids, she is also known as the Mother of Mothers Day, an apt title for the lady who worked hard to bestow honor on all mothers. A loving daughter, Anna never forgot her mother’s word and when her mother died in 1905, she resolved to fulfill her mother’s desire of having a mother’s day. Growing negligent attitude of adult
Americans towards their mothers and a desire to honor her mothers soared her ambitions. Today the festival of Mothers day is celebrated across 46 countries (though on different dates) and is a hugely popular affair. Millions of people across the globe take the day as an opportunity to honor their mothers, thank them for their efforts in giving them life, raising them and being their constant support and well wisher. In the Philippines, the common practices of celebrating it include treating mothers and mother-figures to meals out, strolling in a park or shopping at malls, or giving mother’s time to pamper them. Most families celebrate at home, with children doing household chores that the mother routinely handles such as preparing food, or giving mothers small handcrafted tokens such as cards.