Somehow, it always comes as a surprise - Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. Flower shops tend to be prepared well in advance. The holiday's commercialization has been criticized ever since it was first celebrated.
Image: picture alliance/AA/S.Elcin
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Mother's Day
Somehow, it always comes as a surprise - Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. Flower shops tend to be prepared well in advance. Is it all just commercialism?
Image: picture alliance/AA/S.Elcin
Mother's Day comes to Germany
Mother's Day was started in the US more than 100 years ago. German florists immediately recognized its potential, and the association of German flower shops decided to intensely promote the tradition. On May 13, 1923, it was celebrated in Germany for the very first time.
Image: VDB
Upswing during Nazi era
The National Socialists took a shine to the idea of Mother's Day, even declaring it a public holiday. And they went even further. From 1939 onward, they awarded the "Mother's Cross" for special merit on Mother's Day. The lucky laureates were German mothers who had given birth to four or more children of "pure race."
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Artificial flowers for donations
A different idea was prevalent in post-war West Germany. The health of mothers was in focus, and many were sent for treatment at health resorts. The wife of former President Theodor Heuss, Elly Heuss-Knapp (above right), founded the Müttergenesungswerk, a foundation for the recovery of mothers, in 1950. Donations were made on Mother's Day, and people were rewarded with cloth flowers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Cooking pot as a gift
"No heart of butter, rights for the mother," reads this heart-shaped placard. Feminists in the 1970s and '80s disliked the glorification of motherhood. And on Mother's Day, they demanded more than just a bunch of flowers. "On Mother's Day, we want to get a bunch of flowers, a cooking pot and chocolates to help us deal with the double stress of work and household," they wrote on flyers in 1971.
Image: picture-alliance/Klaus Rose
'Not just flowers - we want rights'
During the 1980s, Mother's Day turned into a day of protest. Thousands of women, and also a few men, gathered in the then-capital Bonn demanding more rights for women.
Image: picture-alliance/Klaus Rose
Celebration for all women
In the former East Germany, however, Mother's Day received hardly any attention. It was even officially rejected in favor of International Women's Day, celebrated on March 8. That holiday, in turn, had no significance in West Germany.
Image: Imago/Stana
No gratitude
Mother's Day has come under fire over and over again, with critics claiming that mothers were being thanked only once a year while being exploited as the family's cleaning lady and cook on the remaining 364 days.
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To gift or not to gift
And today? According to a representative survey from German press agency dpa, one out of five adults sees no reason why they should give a gift to their mother. Another survey conducted by a parents' organisation found that few mothers dream of chocolate, flowers or drawings from their children. Instead, they would rather enjoy a day together with their family - or simply a day for themselves.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Willnow
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There have always been celebrations and rituals around the world to honor motherhood and maternal bonds - among them, for example, the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria and the Christian Mothering Sunday. Mother's Day is just the latest in a long line of such celebrations.
But what many may not know is that Mother's Day was started in the US in the early 20th century. It was first celebrated in 1908 when a woman named Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. The church is now home to the International Mother's Day Shrine.
The tradition was not only imported to Germany, but found its way to numerous other countries around the globe - though it's celebrated on different days of the year. In the US and Germany, the big day is the second Sunday in May. The actual date differs from year to year, which is why most people only remember at the very last moment.
Just commercialism?
It's interesting to note that modern criticism of Mother's Day as a commercialized tradition echoes criticism already voiced by the celebration's founder, Anna Jarvis.
She complained about the commercialization of the holiday in the early 20th century, claiming the emphasis should be on gratitude, not on profit.
According to Jarvis, people should honor their mothers through handwritten letters expressing their gratitude, instead of wasting money on flowers, gifts and pre-made cards. What should count, therefore, is love - not money.