I was one of them. While in Bangladesh, I never heard of Mother's Day. In 1988, when I finally settled down in the United States, my children were young and started to attend schools. Through them I came to know about Mother's Day. They used to bring handmade cards and other crafts from school as Mother's Day gift. After that, through sales at various stores and friends at work, I learned more about Mother's Day. At first I was somewhat sarcastic about Mother's Day, because of the way mothers are being treated all year long. They spend their old age all by themselves. Their children and grandchildren live far away from them. Some people spend their old age in a nursing home, eat their dinner with strangers, cared for by professionals not loved ones. They wait eagerly to see the faces of their loved ones, who only show up on certain days of the year.

Which made me think that we love our mother all year long, our love is not limited to one particular day of the year, we love and take care of our parents all year long, we love them with all our heart, there is no need to show off our love. Maybe that is why people in the East never thought of showering their mother with love and attention on a particular day of the year, because they worship their mother all year long, all life long. Like in Islam, it says, that "a man's heaven lies at the foot of his mother." This made people respect their mother more than anything. But gradually I became quite fascinated and used to the idea of Mother's Day. Now, I eagerly wait to see how my husband and children are going to show me their appreciation on this day.

Early in the morning, I wake up from the noise and smell from the kitchen. My soon to be adult son makes my favorite breakfast of pancakes or bagels, also he makes scrambled eggs and toast, hot beverage, cold juice. Everything he puts on a tray along with the morning newspaper and a flower and brings to my bedroom. At that moment I feel like I am the queen of the day. After my daughter went to university and started to stay in a dorm, I thought my luxury of having breakfast in bed had ended. But from the next year, my son started to make my breakfast. My daughter would buy something very precious and expensive for me. My husband would take me out for dinner to my favourite restaurant. While feeling like a queen, I try not to ignore my own mother. If she is

nearby, my siblings and I try to take her out, buy her something special. After living in the US for several years, she too became quite used to in this tradition. Now, back in Dhaka, on this day, she expects a call from her children. Even though we call her all the time, but we make sure to call her on Mother's Day.

The concept of Mother's Day might be new to us but this is a very old tradition. Many people might not know this tradition is thousands of years old. In the ancient Greek Empire, the spring festival honored Rhea, wife of Cronus and mother of the Gods and Goddesses, it lasted from March 22-25. In Rome, the most significant Mother's Day like celebration was dedicated to the worship of Cybele, another Mother of Gods or Magna Mater. Cybele was the daughter of Heaven and Earth and was the mother of all Gods. Ceremonies in her honour began some 250 years before Christ was born. This Roman religious celebration was known as Hilaria, it lasted for three days from March 15-18.

During the 1600s, England celebrated a day which was called Mothering Sunday. They celebrated it on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the forty day period leading up to Easter), it 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, they would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. They would bring a special cake called mothering cake to provide a festive touch. It was kind of fruit cake or fruit filled pastry known as simnel. Also, they served a sweetened boiled cereal dish called furmety at family dinners during this celebration. As the spread of Christianity through out Europe, this celebration changed to honour the Mother Church. People began to honour their mothers as well as the church. By the end of the 19th century, Mothering Sunday had completely died out.

After WW II, England started to celebrate Mother's Day again when the US servicemen brought this tradition to Europe with them. The commercial enterprises started to use this occasion to make a profit.

Mother's Day was first introduced in America by Julia Ward Howe (who was famous for writing the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic). Julia Howe began promoting the idea of a Mother's Day for Peace. It was celebrated on June 2, 1872 to honour peace, motherhood, and womanhood. In 1873, women in 18 cities across America held a Mother's Day for Peace gathering. Boston celebrated this day for almost ten years. But the celebration died out when Julia Howe was no longer able to pay most of the cost for it. Howe turned her efforts to working for peace and women's rights in other ways.

Anna Jarvis is known as the real founder of Mother's Day. She is the real power behind the official establishment of Mother's Day all over America and world. After the death of her mother, she swore at her mother's gravesite to dedicate her life to her mother's project and establish a Mother's Day to honour mothers, living and dead, as her mother believed if families honoured their mother on a special day, the fighting and hatred would soon end. Anna Jarvis felt children often neglect their mother enough while she was still alive. She hoped that Mother's Day would increase respect for parents and strengthen family ties. There is a persistent rumour that Anna's grief was intensified because she and her mother had quarreled and her mother died before they could reconcile. In 1907, Anna had her first Mother's Day celebration with a small group of people. After that she started a letter writing campaign, which was the most successful letter writing campaign in history. Gradually people joined in her work, newspapers wrote editorials, people lobbied for it. Finally, the lawmakers started to recognise this celebration.

In 1910, the governor of West Virginia issued the first Mother's Day Proclamation. In the same year, Oklahoma celebrated Mother's Day.

By 1911, every state of America had its own observances. By then many countries including Mexico, China, Japan, South America, and Africa started to celebrate Mother's Day. On May 1914, Congress passed another joint resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. In the same year, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first proclamation making Mother's Day an official national holiday.

At the end of Anna Jarvis' life more than 40 countries celebrated Mother's Day. Today, Mother's Day is celebrated almost all over the world. Most celebrate this day on the second Sunday of May, just like America but there are some exceptions. Spain celebrates it on December 8, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. They not only honour the mother of the family, also Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. France celebrates it on the last Sunday of May. On this day, a special cake resembling a bouquet of flowers is presented to mothers at family dinners.

Mother's Day is a very special day for people. We all love our mother, but on this particular day we love to show that off. The consumers have taken this opportunity and today almost 96 percent of American consumers take part in some way on this day. Everything is on sale at stores, from shoes to dress, expensive jewelry to cosmetics, handbags, household items, greeting cards, gift cards to beauty parlors, spa, facial, manicure, pedicure, buying cakes, candies, dinner, etc. Mother's day is the busiest day for many restaurants. Without a reservation, people don't dare go to the restaurants because waiting lines can be a mile long. Florists look forward to this day, because this day is considered as one of the best sales days for them. People can order flowers on the phone or internet from anywhere in the world to be delivered at the doorstep of their mother.

Everyone is trying to make a profit on Mother's Day. They are creating new ideas to market their products, people are just falling into their traps. Anna Jarvis opposed the commercialisation of the Mother's Day. She said, "I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit." We don't remember the main theme of Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis wanted people to spend quality time with their mother, she wanted people to send hand written letters to their mother, not beautiful cards with printed wishes that she called "a poor excuse for the letters you are too lazy to write." She opposed the selling of flowers and cards, she was even arrested while picketing the sale of flowers on Mother's Day. At the end of her life, she was so horrified and disgusted by the commercialisation of her dream child Mother's Day, and wished she hadn't started it.

On this Mother's Day, remembering the main ideology of this day, let's put some personal touch to the gift for our mother. Many families begin Mother's Day with breakfast in bed. Usually dad and kids will let mom sleep late as they go into the kitchen and prepare her favourite meal. The best way to celebrate Mother's Day is to give your mom the day off. Let her take it easy and relax while the rest of the family does the work. If you are able, visit mom in person. If you can't visit her, be sure to call her. Buy her something that you know she has been wanting. Also, many handmade gifts such as a nice picture with mom on a beautiful frame or old pictures of mom in a photo album, or a hand made shawl or scarf can be a good gift. To show our love, we don't need to spend a fortune. A favorite plant in a pot can brighten mom's day. A recipe book or a new set of stationary for writing letters can be very useful. Or you can take time off to run an errand for her. Be appreciative; don't wait after her funeral to let her know how much you appreciated her. If you have already bought a card, tuck a personal letter inside. Patch up a quarrel before it's too late. Make a meal for your mom or for another mom.

Most of all, instead of waiting for a particular day to tell mom, how much we love her, let's just do it more often. Let's visit or call her more frequently. Let's just remember love is not a can of water, it's like an ocean. It'll never end if we give it out everyday.

Happy Mother's Day!

Liza Rahman writes from New York, USA.