THIS weekend, mums across the nation will be enjoying a lazy Sunday morning followed by a day of pampering for Mother's Day.
In an ideal world, that is how it would go anyway. But while for many it might seem disrespectful not to honour mothers everywhere on their special day, no doubt there will be a few women going without on Mother's Day.
Some seemingly ungrateful offspring might use the excuse that Mother's Day is just like any other celebration not worthy of a public holiday, lumping it in with Valentine's Day as another example of big business using emotional blackmail to sell greeting cards.
It is true that Mother's Day is not a modern take on an ancient ritual, having its origins in 1908 America but the idea of giving gifts and cards on Mother's Day was started by a woman called Anna Jarvis, who although childless herself wanted to honour her own mother.
When the idea took off, Ms Jarvis vehemently opposed the commercialisation of the day.
In Australia, the day was adopted not as a marketing ploy but as a sign of respect, with many people marking Mother's Day by people wearing or giving white flowers, usually chrysanthemums or 'mums to honour their own mothers or motherhood in general.
The concept of the Mother's Day present was introduced in 1924 by a Sydney woman, Janet Heyden, who got the idea after visiting someone at the Newington State Home for Women in Silverwater, NSW.
Ms Heyden met women there who were lonely and abandoned, so to cheer them up she arranged for local businesses and primary school children to donate and deliver gifts to elderly mothers at the home on the second Sunday in May.
The idea took off, was supported by local government and promoted by the local newspapers and spread out to include all mothers in Sydney and beyond who deserved a Mother's Day but were at risk of being forgotten on the day.
Alderman William Dyer, who went on to become Mayor of Leichardt, used to drive Ms Heyden around to deliver gifts, which might only have been a cake of soap or a handkerchief but were designed to make mothers feel appreciated.
Today, the second Sunday in May for many mums means being recognised, cuddled and prioritised, all the things that mothers generally do for their children.
