Words To Live By: Mother's Day

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States dates back to the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.

After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia.? That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.

Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

As Mother’s Day was just celebrated across the country this past weekend, we dedicate this week’s podcast to all the Mothers out there.? We’ll start with President Reagan’s radio address to the nation on May 11, 1985.

“My fellow Americans:

“I've just completed an extraordinary 10-day visit to Europe, where I attended the Bonn Economic Summit and helped mark with European leaders the 40th anniversary of V - E Day. It was an exciting trip and a demanding one, and it left Nancy and me with a number of unforgettable memories.

“But sometimes the most memorable moment is something you notice by chance, that hits your heart and yields an unforgettable image. For me it was the sight of an elderly woman standing among the onlookers as we drove through the streets of Strasbourg, France, on the way to the European Parliament to help mark the 40th anniversary of V - E Day.

“Most of the onlookers waved and smiled, but the elderly woman who had stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street was waving a handkerchief in the air and smiling and yelling ``Hello.'' She looked just like the young French women who waved their handkerchiefs 40 years ago as the American convoys drove through the newly freed nation of France, and then I realized, maybe she was one of those young women. And as we drove by her, I thought perhaps she knows better than all of us what the anniversary of V - E Day is all about.

“It was a wonderful trip, but it's good to be home. And it's especially good to be home this weekend because tomorrow is a holiday very close to our hearts -- it's Mother's Day.

“Mothers are the creators of the family, and the family is the center of society. It's no accident that America chose to honor all mothers with a special holiday. After all, mothers have made a unique contribution to our country. They're the main communicators of the values by which our nation has flourished for more than 200 years -- the values of honesty, responsibility, decency, and personal effort. By imparting these and other values to our children, the mothers of America quite literally shape the future.

“Mother's Day takes on a special significance this year for a number of reasons. One is the extraordinary phenomenon of the mothers of America joining together to press for much needed change in our society. There's Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the remarkable group started by a woman whose daughter was killed several years ago by a drunk driver. MADD, as it is called, has been responsible for helping bring tougher laws against drunk drivers in many States. The group has also heightened public awareness of the problem of drunk driving and made our children more aware of its hazards.

“There is also the growing number of women who've joined in the fight against drug abuse. Recently in Washington there was a very important conference for the wives of 17 heads of state and government leaders on how they can strengthen families and help combat the epidemic of drug addiction among our children. That meeting was conceived and chaired by another Reagan named Nancy. I'm deeply proud of her involvement in this crusade, proud of her heartfelt commitment and the sacrifices she's made to help children in their struggle against drug addiction. Nancy, like any mother, feels pain when she sees and hears the cry of a child. So, I hope you don't mind my taking this moment to say thanks Nancy and happy Mother's Day.

“And like all of you, I find my thoughts turning to my own mother, Nelle Reagan. She was truly a remarkable woman -- ever so strong in her determination yet always tender, always giving of herself to others. She never found time in her life to complain; she was too busy living those values she sought to impart in my brother and myself. She was the greatest influence on my life, and as I think of her this weekend I remember the words of Lincoln, ``All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my mother.''

“There's a group of mothers I'd like to mention, whose lives aren't remarked upon enough, but who should be given special mention today. That is the group of mothers who've made an extraordinary personal commitment by adopting children with special needs. These are mothers who have adopted older children, often foster children, and mothers who have taken in children who are unwell, either emotionally or physically, or who need special care of one sort or another. No one knows the heartaches and joys these mothers go through helping those who are most in need of a parent's loving concern.

“Finally, one other group deserves special honors, it's the largest of all -- the working mothers of America. Some devote their full time to raising families, others combine that responsibility with jobs in the marketplace. Some are breadwinners; others are not. But all deserve our respect and thanks. All of these mothers work hard; in fact, they must be the hardest working people in America. Happy Mother's Day to these and all other mothers.

“Until next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you.”

President Reagan also addressed Mother’s Day two years prior in 1983.

“My fellow Americans:

“This is a very special weekend in American life, a time specially set aside to honor our mothers and the mothers of our children. As we do, we acknowledge their role as the heart of our families and reinforce our families as the cornerstone of our society.

“In our families, and often from our mothers, we first learn about values and caring and the difference between right and wrong. Those of us blessed with loving families draw our confidence from them and the strength we need to face the world. We also first learn at home, and, again, often from our mothers, about the God who will guide us through life.

“The mothers we honor this weekend, young or not so young, partners or alone, well-to-do or sometimes agonizingly poor, are as diverse as our varied population. But they share a commitment to future generations and a yearning to improve the world their children will inherit. They shape the America we know today and are now molding the character of our country tomorrow.

“Since men seem to have written most of our history books, the role of women and mothers in our communities and families has not always been given its due. But the truth is the wild west could never have been tamed, the vast prairies never plowed, nor God and learning brought to the corners of our continent without the strength, bravery, and influence of our grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and the women who came before them.

“Living through blizzards, plagues, prairie fires, and floods, these women made homes and started families, organized churches, and built schools. They served as teachers, field hands, physicians, and the center of the family.

“I was reading a book recently about Kansas frontier women and came across a passage that seemed to sum it all up. Esther Clark wrote, ``Mother has always been the gamest one of us. I can remember her hanging onto the reins of a runaway mule team, her black hair tumbling out of its pins and over her shoulders, her face set and white while one small girl clung with chattering teeth to the sides of the rocking wagon and a baby sister bounced about on the floor in paralyzed wonder.

``I remember, too, the things the men said about Leny's nerve. But I think as much courage as it took to hang onto the reins that day, it took more to live 24 hours at a time, month in and out on the lonely and lovely prairie without giving up to the loneliness.''

“Of course, Leny's nerve and strength are echoed in modern-day women and mothers who face different but equally trying tests of their courage. There are mothers like Rachel Rossow of Connecticut, for example, and Dorothy DeBolt of California, who with their husbands have adopted between them 25 handicapped boys and girls in addition to their own children.

“I had a chance to visit with Rachel and her family last month, and I can tell you I've never seen a happier group. I know the strains on them must be great, emotionally and financially, but not as great as the love they feel for each other.

“Of course, many millions of American mothers are quiet, everyday heroes struggling to stretch budgets and too often maintaining their families alone. Many also contribute to society through full-time careers, and others are forced to work just to make ends meet. They're raising children in a fast-paced world where basic values are constantly questioned. Their monumental challenge is to bring their children into adulthood, healthy and whole, nurturing their physical and emotional growth while avoiding the pitfalls of drug abuse and crime.

“The lives of American mothers today are far removed from the prairies, and yet they have a nobility about them, too. Government should help, not hinder parents in this task. And that's why our policies have been designed to restore the family to its rightful place in our society, combat the inflation that stole from family budgets, expand opportunity through a renewed economy and hasten the return of values and principles that made America both great and good.

“On the economic front, I think we've made some solid progress in bringing relief to your financially strapped families. When we took office, inflation was at 12.4 percent, but it's only been one-half of 1 percent for the last 6 months. You can see a difference on the grocery shelves. A loaf of bread, for example, costs only 2 cents more now than it did in 1980. If we'd continued with the old rate of inflation, by now it would have cost 11 cents more. Milk is about 16 cents cheaper than it would have been, hamburger about 18 cents cheaper per pound, and the savings on a dozen eggs is as much as 50 cents. I don't have to tell the people who do the shopping how these savings add up. But for those of you who don't, we estimate that a family of four on a fixed income of $20,000 has $1,700 more in purchasing power this year than they would have had under the old inflation rate.

“The progress we're making with the economy, just like the national renewal we're seeing spring up all around us, is the product of our reliance again on good old-fashioned common sense, renewed belief in ourselves, and faith in God.

“Now and then I find guidance and direction in the worn brown Bible I used to take the oath of office. It's been the Reagan family Bible and, like many of yours, has its flyleaf filled with important events, its margins are scrawled with insights and passages underlined for emphasis. My mother, Nelle, made all those marks in that book. She used it to instruct her two young sons, and I look to it still.

“A passage in Proverbs describes the ideal woman, saying: ``Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.''

“Well, that passage calls for us to recognize the enormous strengths and contributions of women, wives, and mothers and indicates to me that society always needs a little reminding. Well, let us use this weekend as a symbol that we will always remember, reward, and recognize them and use their examples of love and courage as inspiration to be better than we are.

“Till next week, thanks for listening, and God bless you.”

President Reagan loved and cherished his mother, Nelle.? He used to say that she was filled with goodness and love.? Speaking about his parents in 1988 he said, “In the darkest days of the Depression, when they themselves could barely scrape by, no one ever came to their door in need of a meal who Nelle sent away emptyhanded. I'm proud of many things I've done in my life, including more than a few in the last 8 years; but nothing has ever given me as much satisfaction as when, after several years in California, I could bring my mother and father out here and give them a home, the first they had ever owned.”

He concluded that speech by saying, “and now we come to the end of this last campaign, and I just hope that Nelle and Jack are looking down on us right now and nodding their heads and saying their kid did them proud.”

Thank you for reading.

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