Mother's Day

by Delaynna Trim, Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art Curator

A Day by the Seashore by Emile Gruppe

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia began what we now know as Mother’s Day with a memorial service to her mother on May 12, 1907. Her mother Ann Jarvis had created mothers’ clubs to help women and then, after the Civil War, those clubs helped promote reconciliation between the two sides. President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official holiday in the US in 1914.   

Did you know that people in England celebrate Mother’s Day on a different day?  Mother’s Day in the UK began in the 16th century with Mothering Sunday which fell on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The tradition was that you paid your ‘mother church’ a visit - either the church where you were christened, or your parish church, or the nearest cathedral - and you were said to be ‘going a-mothering’ when you did so. Gradually it shifted from visiting the ‘mother church’ to visiting your mother.

In addition to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Peru, and the Philippines all celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May. In France, they celebrate Mother’s Day on the last Sunday of May. In 1806, French emperor Napoleon I established a special day dedicated to the mothers of large families and gave them medals based on how many children they had. This celebration was revived after World War I when an official Mother’s Day took place in 1920.

In Ethiopia, they celebrate with a three-day feast and festivities known as Antrosht. Children will supply the ingredients for a traditional hash, which consists of lamb, butter, spices, cheese and vegetables, which the mother will cook.

The one famous mother and child is, of course, the Virgin Mary and Christ Child. Often in early Medieval paintings, the Christ Child is portrayed as an adult because they were afraid that if they showed Christ as a child that would be offensive. By the Renaissance, it was okay to show Christ as a baby and acting as a baby, so we have paintings of Christ playing with Mary’s veil and garment just like a baby would.

Did you know that Tutu was not just a mummy, but also a mommy? We know from looking at her CT scan (she was scanned just up the road at SSM Health St. Anthony’s Hospital here in Shawnee) that she had at least one child. There are several goddesses for motherhood and mothers in Ancient Egypt. Hathor, who was depicted as a cow, was the mother of several gods. Isis, the mother of Horus, was also the goddess of healing and magic.

For more ideas for Mother’s Day art projects and videos, check out: www.mgmoa.org/art-projects 

Art Project: Egg Carton Flowers

Supplies needed: Scissors, Paint, Paintbrush, Egg carton

Optional: paper or canvas to attach your flowers to, pom poms or buttons for the center of your flower

Cut the egg cups out of an egg carton. Paint them like your favorite flower.

You can use one egg cup per flower or four egg cups and put a pom pom in the center for your flower. You can cut the sides of the egg cup to make petals. The variations of your egg carton flowers are endless! Be creative! See how many different types of flowers you can make.