The history of Mothers' Day
母亲节的历史
In the US Mothers’ Day is a holiday celebrated on second Sunday in May. It is a day when children honor their mothers with cards, gifts, and flowers. First observance in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1907, it is based on suggestions by Julia Ward Howe in 1872 and by Anna Jarvis in 1907.
在美国，人们在5月的第二个星期天庆祝母亲节。在这一天，孩子们把卡片、礼物和鲜花献给他们的母亲。1907年，费城是第一个庆祝母亲节的城市,是由朱丽娅伍德霍夫和安娜贾维斯分别在1872年和1997年提议设立的。
Although it wasn’t celebrated in the US until 1907, there were days honoring mothers even in the days of ancient Greece. In those days, however, it was Rhea, the Mother of the gods that was given honor.
虽然美国直到1907年才庆祝母亲节，但是向母亲致敬的节日甚至可以追溯到古希腊。尽管那时人们是庆祝众神之母瑞亚。
Later, in the 1600s, in England there was an annual observance called “Mothering Sunday”. It was celebrated during June, on the fourth Sunday. On Mothering Sunday, the servants, who generally lived with their employers, were encouraged to return home and honor their mothers. It was traditional for them to bring a special cake along to celebrate the occasion.
后来，在17世纪初的英格兰,人们有了一个惯例,就是在每年6月的第4个星期天庆祝“母亲的星期天”。在母亲的星期天那一天，与雇主住在一起的仆人们通常被劝说回家和他们的母亲团聚。按照惯例,他们要带一块特殊的蛋糕回家庆祝。
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the “Mother Church”- the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
随着基督教在欧洲的传播，这一天逐渐演变为“母亲礼拜日”， 以纪念给予基督徒生命和保护他们不受伤害的精神力量。再以后，“妈妈礼拜日”和“妈妈的星期天”逐渐合为一体。此后,人们在这一 天既庆祝母亲的节日又举行基督教的礼拜。
Mother’s Day was first suggested in the United States in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. A campaign to establish a National Mother’s Day was begun in 1907. It was successful; by 1911 Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state in recognition of the influence mothers have in the making of better citizens.
1872年,美国的朱丽娅伍德霍夫首次提出设立母亲节的建议,用以纪念和平。继而在1907年，人们掀起了一场设立国家母亲节的运动。这项运动取得了成功，到1911年的时候,美国几乎每个州都开始庆祝母亲节,以表达对母亲们在塑造良好公民方面所作出的努力的肯定。
In the US, in 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the 2nd Sunday of May. The next year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
1907年，在美国有一个来自费城的叫安娜贾维斯的人，她发起了一场建立全国性的母亲节的运动。在西弗吉尼亚的格拉夫顿,贾维斯说服了她母亲的教堂,在她母亲去世2周年的纪念日那一天庆祝母亲节，即5月的第二个星期天。下一年，费城也庆祝了母亲节。
Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother’s Day.
贾维斯和其他人开始给部长、商人以及政治家们写信,要求建立全国性的母亲节。
In 1914，President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that the birthday of Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis, the “mother of Mother’s Day ”，would become the National Mother’s Day of the United States. And that from then on, the second Sunday in May would be Mother's Day in memory of the work Mrs. Jarvis had done to bring families together after the Civil war, her work to bring the whole North and South together, her work to honor all the mothers of America throughout history and on into the future, but most of all to honor Mrs. Anna Reeves Jarvis as America’s National Mother. President Wilson asked that the American people fly the United States flag from public buildings and homes on that day as he said, as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.
1914年，伍德罗威尔逊总统宣布“母亲节之母”安娜瑞斯文贾维斯夫人的生日为“美国国家母亲节”。从那时起,每年5月的第二个星期天定为母亲节，以纪念在内战结束后贾维斯夫人在使家庭团聚方面所作出的种种努力,她的工作使美国南北得以统一，给历史上所有美国母亲都带来了荣誉,并且这种荣誉会一直持续下去。但是这个节日最主要的还是为了感谢被人们 尊称为“国母”的安娜瑞斯文
Many other countries of the world celebrate their own Mother’s Day at different times throughout the year. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, as in the US.
世界上许多其他国家在全年的不同时间庆祝他们自己的母亲节。丹麦、芬兰、意大利、土耳其、澳大利亚以及比利时同美国一样，在5月的第二个星期天庆祝母亲节。
Well, what value is Mother’s Day now? As the Congress said in 1914，it reminds people of the influence mothers have had in the making of better citizens. Jarvis was one such mother. On Mother’s Day much attention is given to the important part that each mother plays in giving her children a sense of what is right and what is wrong, what is good behavior and what is bad.
那么,现在母亲节的价值是什么呢？首先,就像在1914年国会所宣称的一样，它提醒人们不要忘记母亲在塑造良好公民方面所作出的努力。贾维斯夫人就是这样一位母亲。在母亲节人们更加关注每个母亲是否真的扮演好了自己的角色，教会孩子什么是对、什么是错、什么是好、什么是坏。
If the observances of Mother’s Day can even in a small way remind mothers of this, then this day will help both the families and the whole country.
如果庆祝母亲节能在提醒母亲们自身责任重大方面起到哪怕一点点儿作用的话,那么这一天也是有助于家庭和整个社会发展的。