Every Culture Celebrates Mothers

[Guest guest]

All over the planet, Mother's Day in some form or another means the

same thing: flowers, breakfast in bed or pampering for overworked

moms.

 

The formal celebration of Mother's Day in the United States began in

1914 as a way of placating women lobbying the government for the

right to vote. At the time, President Woodrow Wilson believed

Mother's Day would remind women of the importance of their duties at

home, and discourage an interest in politics, said Rutgers-Camden

religion Professor Stuart Charme.

 

But the holiday is ubiquitous worldwide as a vestige of ancient

mother goddess rituals from various countries, which took the form

of spring celebrations, Charme said.

 

"In the spring, one of the things you want to celebrate is the power

of new life, the fertility of the earth of the world, of the family,

of humanity," he said.

 

There are variations from nation to nation, though. In the Middle

East, March 25 is Mother's Day. For Indian families, there are Web

sites that specialize in traditional Indian Mother's Day gifts. In

Hispanic countries, Mother's Day is the biggest card-giving holiday

of the year, according to Hallmark.

 

"People get prepared for that day," said Olinda Bello, a Pennsauken

mother of three from the Dominican Republic. "It's a very big

holiday. All the stores, all the businesses close for that day."

 

When people from other countries move to America, their Mother's Day

traditions come with them. That can become expensive, some said,

especially when families also adopt the American holiday. For Arab

Americans, traditions are identical to the United States'. Mothers

receive perfume or gifts. Maybe they'll get a cake. There's just one

difference, said Tawfiq Barqawi of Washington Township.

 

"We do it twice," he joked. "You spend more money."

 

The role of mother itself is perceived differently by different

cultures, some South Jerseyans said.

 

"Traditionally in Hindu culture, mothers are considered as a sort of

goddess," said Sandra "Rupa" Gohil, 39, of Gloucester

Township. "They are meant to be worshipped. They are highly

respected."

 

But they're goddesses who have to multitask. Indian immigrants or

first-generation Americans of Indian descent often expect a mother's

primary role to be maintenance of the home.

 

"It's usually an Indian mother's responsibility to make sure her

family has food every night," said Gohil, who works with a

pharmaceutical company. "Even for a working mother that's something

that she still does and is expected to do."

 

Gohil's two children, a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, will

probably surprise her today with gifts. Every year Mother's Day

usually includes breakfast in bed, she said.

 

For families that want to put an Indian accent on the American

holiday, there are businesses that offer Indian gifts. The site

www.kharidari.com devotes a portion of its Web site to Mother's Day

gifts. The wares include standards like jewelry and pocketbooks, but

there's also a selection of saris, traditional garments for women.

 

For a Dominican family like Bello's, Mother's Day comes both today

and the day it's celebrated in their home country, the last Sunday

in May.

 

"In the capital they celebrate a big Mass," said Bello,

52. "Everybody's very respectful that day. You cannot open your

business, or else you get in trouble."

 

Even in America, Bello and her two daughters, 28 and 27, and a son,

19, make Catholic Mass a part of Mother's Day.

 

In the Dominican Republic, "They have a hymn dedicated to the

mother," said Bello, who works as a community activist with her

husband, Jose.

 

Eve Paygar, a Delanco 18-year-old whose parents are immigrants from

Liberia, plans to take her mother, Emma, out for Mother's Day.

 

"I know she really wants to get her hair done," she said. "I'm just

going to take her to get her hair braided, get her nails done, get

her a pedicure."

 

Her family comes from a culture where parents are treated with more

deference, but she spoke of a universal relationship between mother

and child.

 

"Me and her, we're like two good friends," Paygar said. "But I still

have that respect for her."

 

SOURCE: The Courier-Post, Virginia USA, Sunday, May 14, 2006. Every

culture celebrates moms. By JASON LAUGHLIN.

URL: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

AID=/20060514/NEWS01/605140345/1006

 

 

 

 

 

 

, "NMadasamy"

<ashwini_puralasamy wrote:

>

>

> My questions to all: Do we need just one day to make our mother

feel

> special? What happen to the Hindu Observance. Have we forgotton

and

> need a foreign observance to remind us?

>

>

>

>

> , "Devi Bhakta"

> <devi_bhakta@> wrote:

> >

> > Mother's Day is unknown in India, but thanks to their children

> born

> > in the United States, many Indian families are beginning to join

> in

> > the American observance.

> >

> > The traditional Indian gesture to honor a mother is to bow at

her

> > feet, but Priti Kashyap of Woodbridge says her two young

children

> > have adopted the American practice.

> >

> > On Mother's Day, she said, they eat their meals without

resisting

> > and in general behave well at home.

> >

> > "I wish every day was Mother's Day," Kashyap said.

> >

> > Kashyap's daughter, Ananya, 7, asked her father to take her

> shopping

> > because she wanted to buy a card and a gift for her mother.

> >

> > "I am so touched by her behavior," Priti Kashyap said. "She

makes

> me

> > feel so important."

> >

> > Nine-year-old Nikilesh Kashyap bought his mom's gift from his

> pocket

> > money. Priti Kashyap said she has preserved the first gift she

> > received from her son.

> >

> > "It is precious for me," she said.

> >

> > Madhu Punjabi, 20, of Edison said she learned in school to give

> her

> > mother a card and a gift, but she doesn't think Indian-born

> mothers

> > expect that. Still, she and 18-year-old brother Rajesh have made

> the

> > gesture every year since — with some financial help from dad.

> Madhu

> > Punjabi said she and her brother cook breakfast and lunch on the

> > day, and then the family takes mom out to dinner at an Indian

> > restaurant.

> >

> > Madhu's mother, Padma, said she enjoys the Mother's Day

> celebration

> > but still feels proud when her son shows his respect and love by

> > bowing at her feet, and she added, "I like him to follow our

> Indian

> > culture."

> >

> > Another Edison resident, Karan Pandya, 22, said Mother's Day

> > provides an opportunity for an open expression of affection that

> is

> > not typical of Indian culture.

> >

> > "I touch my grandmother's feet to take her blessing on this

day,"

> > Pandya said, and added:

> >

> > "This is one day when I try to make my mother feel precious. I

buy

> > her flowers and gifts and try to make the day look different

from

> > the normal days."

> >

> > SOURCE: Home News Tribune Online 05/14/06, New Jersey USA,

Indian

> > families celebrate Mom's Day, By RITU JHA, STAFF WRITER

> > URL: http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?

> > AID=/20060514/NEWS01/605140415/1001

> >

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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