Tomorrow is Mother's Day

In the Philippines, we have, at least three Mother’s Day traditions. First was the precursor of the modern Mother Day Commemoration. That was Laetera Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, when the Pope blesses the Golden Rose, an ornament in the form of a spray or roses, stem, leaves, and decorated with gems. It was given to cities, countries, or sovereigns as a token of appreciation for services of loyalty. Some say that the practice evolved from the pre-Reformation tradition of visiting the parish church on that day. It was called Mothering Sunday and during the Spanish times, it was customary for children to give token presents to their mothers.

In 1921, we had a local Mother’s Day when the Ilocos Norte Women’s Club petitioned for an annual Mother‘s Day commemoration. For some unexplained reason, the then-acting Governor-General Charles Yeater designated the first Monday of December as the Philippines Mother Day celebration. The celebration took place in schools with school children holding programs honoring their mothers. In 1980, President Ferdi-nand E. Marcos issued a proclamation declaring the first Sunday and first Monday of December of every year as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day respectively.

What we will be celebrating tomorrow is the American Mother’s Day which has an interesting tradition of its own. It began in 1907 when Ana Jarvish of Philadelphia convinced her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death. Her campaign was so successful that by 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated almost throughout the United States. Then on May 8, 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation calling on all government officials to display the US flag on all government buildings on the second Sunday of May as a public expression of love and reverence to all mothers in the country. For some reason, the celebration was not extended to the Philippines. The most interesting Mother’s Day celebration we have seen was in Mexico. We don’t recall the day, but it was celebrated for two consecutive days and it was a public celebration in the streets. The streets were filled with musicians who serenaded all mothers that passed by.

That we believe is what our Mother’s Day celebration lacks. We should have a distinctly Filipino way of observing Mother’s Day. It should not just be the children honoring their mother. It should be the whole community paying homage to all mothers. In short, a community fiesta for every mother. The starting point here will be every barangay. After the Mother country, the mothers of the country.