三毛曾写过一篇《守望的天使》，文章说，每个人生命中最真最诚的天使是自己的父母，天使终其一生舍尽全力来为自己的孩子挡风遮雨。在犹太人的谚语里，也有一句类似的表述，而且更为精辟：God could not be everywhere and therefore be made mothers. 母亲节来临之际，首先让我们了解母亲节来历，并用心写上最为朴实的祝福：母亲节快乐！

Mother's Day History 母亲节由来

The history of Mother's Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.

母亲节的历史可以追溯到几百年前的古希腊，当时，人们都会举行庆祝活动纪念Rhea（瑞亚），（古希腊的众神之母，她是主神宙斯和天后赫拉的母亲）。早期的基督徒在大斋节的第四个星期日节日庆祝母亲节来纪念Mary（基督的母亲）。有趣的是，宗教秩序的改革使得这一节日包括了全体的母亲，并将这一日命名为“母亲节”。后来，在美国定居的英国殖民者由于缺少时间停止了这项传统。1872年朱丽娅伍德霍夫以致力于和平为母亲们设立一个节日。这是母亲节在历史上的里程碑。

In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), a Philadelphia schoolteacher, began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Anna's mother. Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, the white incarnations, on the occasion as they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

1907年，一位费城教师，安娜米贾维斯（1864-1948），开始了一项在全国范围内纪念母亲的的节日，安娜米贾维斯荣誉日。她征求了数以百计的立法者和商界翘楚一起来创立一个特殊的日子来纪念母亲。第一个母亲节庆祝表彰是在一个教堂为安娜母亲举办的。安娜在仪式上发放了她母亲最喜爱的白色花朵，这是甜蜜，纯洁，耐心的化身。安娜的努力终于在1914年得到了回报，时任总统伍德罗威尔逊宣布将五月的第二个星期天作为母亲节。

Slowly and gradually the Mother's day became very popular and gift giving activity increased. All this commercialization of the Mother's day infuriated Anna as she believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.

渐渐地，母亲节变得非常流行，送礼活动日趋增加。所有这一切商业化的活动激怒了安娜，她认为这一天的情绪都被贪婪和利益所玷污了。

Regardless of Jarvis's worries, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. Actually, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Although Anna may not be with us but the Mother's day lives on and has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

尽管Jarvis对此很担忧，但母亲节已盛行于美国。事实上，这一天已成为一年当中最受欢迎的日子了。虽然安娜现在已不在我们身边了，但母亲节成立了而且已蔓延到世界各国。世界上的许多国家都在一年的不同时期庆祝着母亲节，但如丹麦，芬兰，意大利，土耳其，澳大利亚和比利时等还是在第五月第二个周日庆祝母亲节。

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（来源：沪江英语  编辑：Julie）