母親節 Mother's Day(雙語介紹)

母親節（Mother's Day），作為一個感謝母親的節日，最早出現在古希臘，時間是每年的一

月八日，而在中國、美國、加拿大和一些其他國家，則是每年5月的第二個星期天，其他一

些國家的日期也并不一樣。母親們在這一天通常會收到禮物。康乃馨被視為獻給母親的花。

而我國的母親花是萱草花，又叫忘憂草。

The modern Mother's Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most

commonly in March, April, or May as a day to honor mothers and motherhood.

節日起源于古希臘。在這一天，古希臘人向希臘眾神之母希布莉（Cybele，宙斯、波塞冬、

哈德斯、得墨忒耳、赫拉和赫斯提亞的母親，故稱眾神之母）致敬。到古羅馬時，這些活動

的規模就變得更大，慶祝盛況往往持續達三天之久。當然，古時人們對女神的崇拜只不過是

一種迷信，它同今天人們對母性的尊敬是大不相同的。在17世紀中葉，母親節流傳到英國，

英國人把封齋期的第四個星期天作為母親節。在這一天里，出門在外的年輕人將回到家中，

給他們的母親帶上一些小禮物。

There is evidence of mother goddess worship in the ancient world, dating back as far as 6.000 BC,

and many mother goddess shrines could be found in ancient times in Asia minor.

Ancient Greece imported the Mother Goddess cult from Asia Minor, in the form of a festival to

Cybele, a great mother of Greek gods. It was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor.

Originally they identified Cybele with Rhea, the mother of gods. The details were not recorded,

and we only know that the goddess was attended by galli.

Ancient Romans appropriated the cult to Cybele/Rhea in order to absorb culturally the Greeks

and the habitants of Asia Minor, honoring Cybele in the Hilaria festivals, from the Ides of March

(15 March) to 18 March. But the Romans were horrified by the Greek celebrations; they quickly

associated the cult to the Roman version of Cybele and they made up their own customs. They

also made a parate festival in April dedicated to Magna Deorum Mater Idaea, a version of

Cybele that was even further parated from Greek customs. The two goddess, Cybele and

Mater Idaea, were eventually merged into a single entity that was completely Romanized,

although they kept using galli.

The festivals of Cybele evolved into the Christian festival of Mothering Sunday, honouring the

Virgin Mary and your mother church (the main church of the area) It's now a long standing

tradition, part of the liturgical calendar in veral Christian denominations, including Anglicans,

and in the Catholic calendar it is marked as Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent. Children

and young people who were "in rvice" (rvants in richer houholds) were given a day off on

that date so they could visit their families (or, originally, return to their "mother" church). The

children would pick wild flowers along the way to place them in the church or to give them to

their mothers as gifts. Eventually, the religious tradition evolved into a cular tradition of giving

gifts to mothers. This festival survived in the UK and Ireland for longer than in other European

countries, and it was repopularid in the 20th Century. Most people are unaware of its historical

origins, and regard Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day as the one and same festival.

1876年，美國還在悲悼南北戰爭的死者。安娜·查維斯夫人（Anna Jarvis）在禮拜堂講授美

國國殤紀念日的課程，講到戰役中捐軀的英雄故事后，她進行祈禱時說：“但愿在某處、某

時，會有人創立一個母親節，紀念和贊揚美國與全世界的母親。”

One of the early calls to celebrate a Mother's Day in the United States was the "Mother's Day

Proclamation" by Julia Ward Howe. Written in 1870, it was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of

the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. The Proclamation was tied to Howe's

feminist belief that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.

International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time in 28 February 1909, in the US, by

which time Anna Jarvis had already begun her national campaign in the US. It is now celebrated

in many countries on March 8.

母親節是在中國港澳臺地區流行起來之后才進入大陸的，名貴的珠寶，象征母愛的康乃馨，

特制的愛心甜點，精致的手工賀卡等，成為人們向母親敬獻愛意的禮物。20世紀80年代，

母親節逐漸被中國內地的民眾所接受。從1988年開始，中國南方的廣州等一些城市開始舉

辦母親節的慶祝活動，并把評選“好母親”作為內容之一。20世紀末,隨著中國與國際的日

益接軌，母親節這一節日在中國大陸各地日益推廣開來，越來越多的人開始接受母親節概念，

在每年5月的第二個星期日，中國人和全世界其他國家的人們一道以各種各樣的方式表達對

母親養育之恩的感謝。

當然，中國人的母親節更有中國味道。中國人以自己特有的方式表達濃濃的親情，在母親節

這一天，人們會送給母親鮮花,蛋糕,親手烹制的飯菜等等禮物。從小就孝敬父母的中國兒童

會嘗試著為母親做飯，洗臉，化妝，演奏音樂，繪制圖畫，讓母親們快樂地過節。人們在這

一天除了孝敬自己的生身母親之外，還會以慈善募捐，志愿服務的方式向更多的母親回報親

情。

在母親節這天，中國的母親們會舉行廚藝比賽，時裝秀等活動來慶祝自己的節日。各地

會舉辦各種各樣的活動,如組織母親們旅游，評選優秀母親等。

敬重母親，弘揚母愛的母親節，在中國已成為一個約定俗成的節日，到了現在，每年五

月的第二個星期日的母親節已經成為一個公眾必過的節日。隨著母親節成為公眾的節日，國

人也終于可以在這一天里，大大方方地表示對母親的深厚感情。

2006年11月13日，全國政協委員李漢秋就曾以《創設中國母親節》為題，提出設立

中國人自己的母親節，并提出孟母可作為中國母親節的形象代表。2006年12月，中國民協

節徽文化委員會、鄒城市委市政府、北京東方道德研究所、石家莊市中小學生校外綜合實踐

活動基地等4家“母親節”核心發起單位正式成立“中華母親節促進會”，確定將農歷的四

月初二，也就是孟母生孟子這一天定為中華母親節，并決定在首屆中華母親節到來之際舉行

一系列慶祝活動。

現在世界流行的母親節是5月的第二個星期日，是美國最先設立的。

The day is becoming more popular in China, and carnations are a very popular gift and the most

sold type of flower. In 1997 it was t as the day to help poor mothers, specially to remind people

of the poor mothers in rural areas such as China's western region. In the People's Daily, the

Chine government's official newspaper, an article explained that "despite originating in the

United States, people in China take the holiday with no hesitance becau it goes in line with the

country's traditional ethics – respect to the elderly and filial piety to parents."

In recent years the Communist Party member Li Hanqiu began to advocate for the official

adoption of Mother's Day in memory of Meng Mu, the mother of Mèng Z, and formed a

non-governmental organization called Chine Mothers' Festival Promotion Society, with the

support of 100 Confucian scholars and lecturers of ethics. They also ask to replace the Western

gift of carnations with lilies, which, in ancient times, were planted by Chine mothers when

children left home.[39] It remains an unofficial festival, except in a small number of cities.