ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

For Mothers’ Day, we look at greener and more practical ways to celebrate motherhood, and the work of carers.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.  During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday".  Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honoured the mothers of England.

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.

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.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace.  Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts every year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day.  Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May.  By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day.  It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

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.

Home made-cards

Cut out suitable pictures from old birthday cards, or use an old photograph of yourself (baby pictures are good to use, if you have some) and stick onto recycled paper to make a cards.Or else make a home-made card using your very own artwork (and verse, if you are up to it). Even adults needing to send a card could do this, rather than head to the nearest supermarket, newsagent or stationers for an expensive and probably not very ‘eco/green’ mass-produced card….

An eco-promise?

An eco-promise can be written or put in a home-made card. Here are some ideas-
reduce – maybe a promise not to pester for toys, trainers or clothes for the next three months and to make use of what’s in the household already?

recycle – maybe a promise to sort out cans, bottles or newspapers for refuse collections or for taking to a recycling centre for the next three months? Or perhaps a promise to sort out (good quality) unwanted books from around the house; and sell them (for example via green metropolis/www.ecostudio,com,au free classifieds ) . Green Metropolis will also sell childrens’ books.

What about a promise (from older children) to prepare a meal, using allotment, organic or local market produce? Or perhaps a promise to work in a garden or allotment?

Be practical: a veggie box!

Long-lasting: pot plants or herbs?

Cut flowers- Fairtrade or Organic Local.

Florist Imogen Stone offers Fairtrade roses by post.

*By Nature * has just started to offer British and organic flowers for delivery, as well as Fairtrade roses and bouquets. Each bouquet is delivered with a seeded paper card (with wild flowers seeds) that can be planted later and attached with a keepsake ladybird peg.

Moreover, bouquets sent out with certification as to source, if requested.
By Nature say they want to offer a truly ethical alternative with the choice of organic, fairtrade or homegrown flowers as more people question where their flowers are coming from and how they are grown.
With thanks to contributors for mother’s day ideas.

Suzanne Phillips - 08/03/07 www.grownupgreen.org.uk/features/?id=1104&PHPSESSID=33088ceca0fa0691acb0e57d8e6fd41c