It's A Camp Romani Mother's Day
Is Mother's Day harmless?
The Encyclopædia Britannica (1959 edition, ahh hum , my birth year
(Mother's Day): "A festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor."
Some historians believe that the earliest celebrations of Mother's Day was the ancient spring festival dedicated to mother goddesses. The ancient Greek empire had a spring festival honoring Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the gods and goddesses. In Rome there was a Mother's Day-like festival dedicated to the worship of Cybele, also a mother goddess. Ceremonies in her honor began some 250 years before Christ was born. This Roman religious celebration, known as Hilaria, lasted for three days - from March 15 to 18.
Then came the adoption of Mother's Day in the United States, the New York Times of May 10, 1953, reported:
"In spite of the popularity of Cybele, . . . and sporadic occasions honoring mothers during the Middle Ages, it was not until 1914 that the proper combination of sentimentality, idealistic promotion and hard business sense impelled the United States Congress to designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day."
Therefore, Is Mother's Day pagan or not?
Based on my research and the above information, Mother's Day was originally pagan and used to worship a pagan god. But most will say: That Mother's Day has nothing to do with this United States Mother's Day. That Mother's Day was established on the grounds of Paganism but this America's Mother's Day was made official in 1914 by Congress and started by a group of women who wanted to pay tribute to their mother's. So is it wrong to celebrate Mother's Day under that origin? There seems to be no connection of Pagan roots in America's Mother's Day.
But it's interesting to point out that Anna Jarvis, the one who introduced the concept of a non-secular celebration of mothers, became disenchanted with the commercialism of the holiday. A trait that we see with most or all holidays. It got to the point that remembering a mom was not enough. Instead, cards, flowers, cake, perfume, and other items had to be purchased to make mom feel good. This is why there was eventually an attempt to stop the celebration of Mother's Day.
Let's consider though that Mother's Day is a spring celebration. And other's around the world celebrate Mother's Day in a distinctive way that involves worship to Mother Nature or Mother Earth. For example, the first rites of Spring are held over Mother's Day weekend by Pagans in New England. It is a Pagan gathering that started in 1979 on Mother's Day weekend and involves pagans, witches, and other participants from all over the world. Magical rituals are conducted during this time.
In the same way, Mother's Day is celebrated in various ways with distinctive practices and reasons all around the world.
Mother's Day is so tainted and deceiving when we start looking at these different factors. Mother's Day has lost its original aim and purpose. Ultimately, I find that it is up to each one of us to honor our mother each and every day. That we can set our own date any other day in the year to honor our mother. It doesn't have to be on Mother's Day. Nobody should be expecting something just because of a day. We seem to always expect something during the holidays. Instead, it should be a surprise. - Bill Sanford
Article by Lew White:
THE HEARTBEAT OF CREATION - WHAT IS IT?
Lunar Sabbaths must wonder why Yahuah did not use the Moon to determine His weekly Sabbath when He delivered His people from Mitsrayim, but rather used manna. The Moon phases would have made it very simple. It must also seem strange to them that He would make it difficult and keep the Moon’s involvement a secret from so many people for so long. Or, it may be that the Moon isn’t involved in the weekly counting of days at all, as we see a distinction between the weekly Sabbath and the annual mo'edim (appointed-times) at Lev 23. The annual mo'edim are all determined by the Moon, but the weekly Sabbath is mentioned separately, and first. The 7-day week was begun BEFORE the Moon was created, so the Sun, Moon, and Stars exist within the context of the week, not the week in the context of the phases of the Moon.
The Moon was created within the context (environment, frame of reference, framework) of the week; not the week in the environment of the Moon.
The heartbeat of Creation is therefore the week, not the Sun, Moon, and Star
And with that I want to send a special Mother's Day blessing......
Momma I know you did the best you could......
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, grandmothers, and those who care for children!
Though this is a secular holiday, the idea of honoring one’s elders (and especially mothers!) in a spiritual way was widespread in early Germanic and Celtic society, which gives this day a sacred connotation for some modern-day Pagans. According to Wikipedia, the cult of the Matres and Matrones (meaning mothers and matrons, respectively) was incredibly popular during the first through fifth century AD; and we can find this spiritual idea stretching into Anglo-Saxon England and 13th century Scandinavia as well. Though of course not all Pagans place an emphasis on the practices of the past, I think it speaks to an idea deeply embedded within our cultural consciousness, and may therefore be relevant to all of us today.
The idea of motherhood being a sacred function, an act which places one’s parent as the one of the most important people in one’s life, is something that I think can be incredibly powerful both for Pagan parents and and also Pagans who are someone’s children.
Not all of us will have mothers who fulfilled such a good role in our lives; but most of us have at least mother-figures who have cared for us, or mother's back in our family line who made our lives possible.
These people made great sacrifices, or at least did a lot of work, to make sure that we made it to adulthood fed and clothed.
For that, I believe they deserve honor. And their mothers, and their mothers, and their mothers – all who made it possible for you to exist and to have grown, I believe they are also deserving.
For those of you who are mothers or mother-figures, or fulfill a mothering role, this can be a wonderful day to recognize the sacred in that. It is easy to get caught up in a world of runny noses and endless (sometimes pestering) questions, going as quick as we can during the day and waiting for the blessed time when the kids finally sleep and we can rest.
I believe it is always worth it to take a little time to appreciate what we have, the moment that we are living in, and the roles we are fulfilling for those that we love.
As a mother told me, "they do a great deal of work and sometimes make great sacrifices to ensure that our children are happy."
There is power in that.
Doing such work for another person forms an intense bond between parent and child; and if we take a moment to let us see ourselves in that light, it can be a very powerful experience.
Perhaps also take some time to remember those who were mothering in your life, for connecting back with that power, that energy, can even amplify the power and magic that is inherent in mothering.
I challenge all my readers to pause this Mother’s Day and think on the spiritual significance your mother or your mothering holds for you.
And if you are a mother – enjoy your breakfast in bed!
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For Mother's and spouse and sibling.
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