Maramba Vision

Providing a caring environment where aspirations are nurtured, positive relationships grow, success is celebrated and a passion for lifelong learning is ignited.

Nurture. Innovate. Celebrate.

Dear Students, Parents, Carers and Families,

Mother’s Day

If you usually take your mum out for afternoon tea or spoil her at a spa for Mother’s Day, this year you will need to rethink your plans. This year in Australia, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10 and that means you have less than a week to organise a way to celebrate with your mum. Our Maramba students have the opportunity to show their appreciation towards their mothers by celebrating Mother’s Day at home by:

Family breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner at home
Giving cards, flowers, or cakes.
Personal phone calls, particularly from children who live away from their mothers and/or mother figures.
Mother’s Day poems and messages.
Gifts of chocolate, jewellery, accessories, clothing, hobby equipment or tools, handmade items, or gift vouchers.

On Sunday many Australians will spend the day celebrating their mothers and other special women in their lives. Mother's Day has long been a part of the Australian calendar, but where did the idea to dedicate the second Sunday in May to honouring motherhood come from? The modern Australian celebration of Mother's Day actually grew out of calls for peace and anti-war campaigns following the American Civil War (1861-65).

Background

The modern-day origins of Mother's Day can be attributed to two women – Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis, who were important in establishing the tradition in the United States. Around 1870, Julia Ward Howe called for Mother's Day to be celebrated each year. It continued to be held in Boston for about 10 years under her sponsorship, but died out after that. Other sources say that Juliet Calhoun Blakely initiated Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the late 1800's. Her sons paid tribute to her each year and urged others to honour their mothers.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis held a private Mother's Day celebration in memory of her mother, Ann Jarvis, in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, she played a key role in arranging a church service that attracted 407 children and their mothers. A Mother’s Day International Association was founded in 1912 to promote the holiday in other countries. Mother’s Day has grown increasingly popular since then.

Mother's Day in Australia

It was not until 1924, following the losses of World War I, that Mother's Day was first held in Australia. Sydney woman Janet Heyden started the tradition after becoming concerned for the lonely, forgotten aged mothers at Newington State Hospital where she regularly visited a friend. She successfully campaigned for local schools and businesses to donate gifts to the ladies.

There were so many mothers who were no longer mothers and wives who were widowed because of World War 1, and who never had the prospect of becoming mothers or wives because a whole generation had been wiped out in the trenches of the Western Front. While Mother's Day initially began to promote peace and support women, over the years it has become an occasion for family reunions in Australia.

It is not just about recognising the role of mothers, it is really acknowledging Mother's Day as a day in which families can get together.

Kind Regards,

Diane Morwood

Assistant Principal

Mathletics