Mother's Day: Facts and Trivia

[Guest guest]

[Compiled by Sudeshna B Baruah for the Hindustan Times:]

 

MOTHER'S DAY TRIVIA!

 

* Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the

invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful

sacred images

 

* In the Bible, Eve is credited with being the " Mother of All the Living. "

 

* Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call

themselves families. They call themselves " maharis " , or " motherhoods. "

 

* Rosa Parks was the mother of bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama that

launched the Civil Rights Movement.

 

* Chinese family names are often formed (begin) with a sign that means

" mother " . It's a nice way of honoring their moms long past.

 

* The ancient Greeks celebrated Mother's Day in spring, like we do.

They used to honor Rhea, " mother of the gods " with honey-cakes and

fine drinks and flowers at dawn. Sounds like the beginnings of the

Mother's Day tradition of breakfast in bed!

 

* Mother Shipton was a Prophetess in Britain 500 years ago. She could

see the future, and predicted that another Queen Elizabeth would sit

on the throne of England. (QE II)

 

* Japan's Imperial family trace their descent from Omikami Amaterasu,

the Mother of the World.

 

* Julia Ward Howe wrote the Battle Hymm of the Republic and was a

staunch fighter for women's rights. She staged an unusual protest for

peace in Boston, by celebrating a special day for mothers. Julia

wanted to call attention to the need for peace by pointing out mothers

who were left alone in the world without their sons and husbands after

the bloody Franco-Prussian War.

 

* The Greek word " meter " and the Sanskrit word " mantra " mean both

mother and measurement.

 

* Mother Goose is one of the most popular of all children's

entertainers. Her books and stories have been loved for many generations.

 

* Native American Indian women have long been honored with the name,

" Life of the Nation " for their gift of motherhood to the tribes.

 

* Ancient Egyptians believed that " Bast " was the mother of all cats on

Earth, and that cats were sacred animals.

 

* Buddha honoured mothers when he said, " As a mother, even at the risk

of her own life, loves and protects her child, so let a man cultivate

love without measure toward the whole world. "

 

* Mother's Day is now celebrated in many countries around the world.

Australia, Mexico, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, Russia,

China, Thailand, all have special celebrations to honor Mothers.

 

MOTHER'S DAY HISTORY

 

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations are traced back to the spring

celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, wife of Cronus and

the Mother of the Gods and goddesses.

 

In Rome the most significant Mother's Day-like festival was dedicated

to the worship of Cybele, another mother goddess. Ceremonies in her

honour began some 250 years before Christ was born.

 

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called " Mothering Sunday " ,

celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (also called Mid-Lent Sunday).

" Mothering Sunday " honoured the mothers of England. As Christianity

spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honour the " Mother

Church " -- the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them

from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering

Sunday celebration.

 

People began honouring their mothers as well as the church. During

this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the

wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants

would live at the houses of their employers.

 

On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were

encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A

special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to

provide a festive touch.

 

The first Mother's Day proclamation was issued by the governor of West

Virginia in 1910. The first Mother's Day proclamation was issued by

the governor of West Virginia in 1910. Oklahoma celebrated Mother's

Day that year as well. By 1911 every state had its own observances. By

then other areas celebrating Mother's Day included Mexico, Canada,

China, Japan, South America and Africa.

 

The Mother's Day International Association was incorporated on

December 12, 1912, with the purpose of furthering meaningful

observations of Mother's Day.

 

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at

different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as

Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also

celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. Mother's Day is

celebrated on May 10 in Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico,

Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and United Arab Emirates.

 

Mother's Day, like the job of " mothering, " is varied and diverse.

Perhaps that's only appropriate for a day honouring the multiple ways

women find to nurture their families, their communities, their

countries, and the world at large.

 

SOURCE: Hindustan Times

URL: http://tinyurl.com/29bjjx

[Guest guest]

After reading all, i notice some errors, but wonder if anyone knows

of a scripture that says this:

 

>* Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the

>invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful

>sacred images

 

I've seen this said of Sarasvati.

 

as for

 

>* Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call

>themselves families. They call themselves " maharis " , or " motherhoods. "

 

This is in India! not Africa

 

Max

--

Max Dashu

Suppressed Histories Archives

http://www.suppressedhistories.net

Real Women, Global Vision

[Guest guest]

Hi Max:

 

Thanks for those catches:

 

*** I wonder if anyone knows of a scripture that says this:

 

Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the invention

of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful sacred images

 

I've seen this said of Sarasvati. ***

 

I would be interested too. Sounds like Saraswati to me.

 

*** as for

 

Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call themselves

families. They call themselves " maharis " , or " motherhoods. "

 

This is in India! not Africa

 

***

 

Yikes. She must have meant Maasai?

 

Still, the editors should have caught those, esp. at the Hindustan

Times! :-p

 

For that matter, *I* should have caught them. :-p

 

Ah well, public failure is good for building character, eh?

 

Thanks again for the catches

 

DB

[Guest guest]

>Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call themselves

>families. They call themselves " maharis " , or " motherhoods. "

>

>This is in India! not Africa

>

>***

>Yikes. She must have meant Maasai?

 

No, cuz they are patrilineal. I think she means the Khasi in Assam...

 

Max

--

Max Dashu

Suppressed Histories Archives

http://www.suppressedhistories.net

Real Women, Global Vision

[Guest guest]

Thanks again, Max, for your time and research into this matter. :-)

 

aim mAtangyai namaH

 

 

, Max Dashu <maxdashu wrote:

>

> >Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call

themselves

> >families. They call themselves " maharis " , or " motherhoods. "

> >

> >This is in India! not Africa

> >

> >***

> >Yikes. She must have meant Maasai?

>

> No, cuz they are patrilineal. I think she means the Khasi in

Assam...

>

> Max

> --

> Max Dashu

> Suppressed Histories Archives

> http://www.suppressedhistories.net

> Real Women, Global Vision

>

[Guest guest]

Hello Max.

 

> After reading all, i notice some errors, but wonder if anyone

knows

> of a scripture that says this:

>

> >* Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the

> >invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and

beautiful

> >sacred images

 

I don't know whether there's a scripture that says exactly this.

 

But ideas like this are inherent in the tantric view that the heads

which Kali wears are actually the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet.

 

Vimalananda-Svami (writing approximately a century ago) says

the head are letters in a prayer with which he introduces his

edition of the Karpuradi Stotra, and also in his commentary to

Karpuradi Stotra, the commentary called Vimalanandadayini.

 

(Sir John Woodroffe's translation of this material is included in

the 1973 Ganesh edition of Woodroffe's _Hymns to the

Goddess_)

 

In his introductory prayer Vimalananda writes that Goddess

Kalika

 

" is pictured as wearing a garland of severed heads,

Because She is Shabdabrahman and the heads are the fifty

letters... "

 

In his commentary to verse 6 of the Karpuradi Stotra, he quotes

the Niruttara Tantra as saying that Kali has " a garland of heads

representing the 50 letters. "

 

My commentary on the commentary...

 

Shabdabrahman is Spirit as Word. As Shabdabrahman,

Goddess Kali is language itself, as a differentiated expression of

ultimate reality.

 

Om Shantih

Colin

http://home.pacific.net.au/~ferment/

[Guest guest]

Hi Colin

 

Right you are. You put it very well, " As Shabdabrahman,

Goddess Kali is language itself, as a differentiated expression of

ultimate reality. "

 

Still, it is something different to say that she invented the

alphabet, a different type of tradition, like those about the origin

of Devanagari.

 

Something more specific than saying she is everything and the origin

of everything. )

 

Max

[Guest guest]

, Max Dashu <maxdashu wrote:

>

> After reading all, i notice some errors, but wonder if anyone knows

> of a scripture that says this:

>

> >* Hindu scripture credits the Great Mother, Kali Ma, with the

> >invention of writing through alphabets, pictographs and beautiful

> >sacred images

>

> I've seen this said of Sarasvati.

>

Yes that is true for most part , however I did have a thought about it for

Saraswati also

represents true knowledge also disspeler of illusion through knowledge but so is

Ma Kali She

is also disspeler of illusion and ignorance . Somehow they seem actually similar

to me , like

Matangi is the esotheric side of Saraswati . Joanna