Those living in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and some other countries celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, 13 May. For most families, it will be a day filled with pampering their beloved mother. Children will treat Mum to breakfast in bed and shower her with homemade gifts, and Dad will fire up the grill for a Mother’s Day feast. It’s the type of celebration that takes place all over the world at different times of the year, with perhaps slight variations on affectionate traditions.
Recognizing mothers for all they do has origins dating back thousands of years, but the modern-day holiday got its beginnings in the early 20th-century United States. Mother’s Day is credited to Anna Jarvis, who desired to memorialize her own mother and in the process successfully lobbied for a national holiday. Jarvis insisted on making the apostrophe in “Mother’s Day” a singular possessive to indicate a personal recognition rather than a plural possessive that honors mothers as an entire group.
Perhaps the woman who best exemplifies motherhood is Mary, the earthly mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Mary was chosen by God the Father above all others to bear and raise the Christ child. How pure and faithful she must have been for our Father in Heaven to entrust her with His Only Begotten Son and Savior of the World.
Along with her husband, Joseph, Mary provided a loving and caring home for her young son as He matured and prepared for a purpose no other being could accomplish — Atone for all mankind.
One of the most touching gestures and a telling insight into how the Savior cherished His mother is found in the New Testament. After bearing the burden of each of our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane and as He hung on the cross suffering and bleeding, He made sure that His mother was cared for before He “gave up the ghost.”
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:26-27).
Watch a newly released Bible video montage of her life: