11 May 2014: Happy (American) Mother's Day!!!

In England, Mother's Day is celebrated at the end of March. But in America, it's celebrated in the middle of May. I was curious as to why that is, so I did a bit of Internet research to find out.

Apparently in the UK, Mother's Day comes from a day that was celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent called "Mothering Sunday." This tradition, which dates back to the 16th Century, was a day when Christians would go back to their "mother church" to worship, reuniting the Christians not only with their roots, but with their families as well. Today, it's just a day to show your mother how much you love her.

In the USA, Mother's Day came from a woman named Julia Ward Howe, who wrote a Mother's Day Declaration as a call for peace. In 1914, President Wilson made the day an official holiday, where citizens would honor the mothers of people who died in the war. Today, like in the UK, it's just a day to show your mother how much you love her.

(Source: https://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070511123054AARhKFr)

So while the current holidays are extremely similar, with greeting cards, flowers, going out to dinner, and plenty of hugs and kisses, the roots of this holiday could not be more different.

My mom is honestly one of the most wonderful people I know, and I love her more than words can express. I'm so happy that the two of us have such a strong relationship and that she's a part of my life. I can't wait to get another one of her perfect hugs in another month <3

So even though mother's day is on different days and has different roots, if there's one thing that I've learned during my time abroad, it's that mothers are mothers no matter where you go. A mother's love knows no nationality.

Warning: The above link was made by Disney, so it's got the most emotionally manipulating music I've ever heard. Get the tissues before watching it. Oh, and just as a bit of a warning, a couple of clips of Dumbo are included, so my own mom might not want to watch it ;)