Why March 21 is Mother’s Day in the Arab world?
March 21 is Mother’s Day in the Arab world, a day to honor moms for all they have done for their children.
The reason this significant date is March 21 can be sketched back to the period of the pharaohs. The former head of the Egyptian Antiquities Office, Dr. Mohammed Bakr, has said that the pharaohs held women in high esteem and that this is evident from the numerous depictions of women and moms found in their sanctuaries.
He went on to say that the ancient Egyptians made flower-filled vessels and floated them around the streets of Egyptian towns in honor of Isis, the ancient Pharaonic ruler, who became a sign of maternity in later civilizations.
Some Roman churches even featured images of Isis, who was considered a holy figure and a maternal figure. Women and moms were honored in ancient Egypt in many ways, and these sanctuaries were decorated with paintings and hieroglyphics that depicted these events.
According to Bakr, modern Mother’s Day was influenced by traditions observed in other cultures. He went on to say that some scholars think the day was invented by the Greeks, who began celebrating it in March to usher in the arrival of spring.
He explained that, like the ancient Pharaohs, they chose to hold their festivities in the spring because that’s when blossoms bloomed, a visual representation of the importance of mothers to the continuation of life.
Modern Egyptian scholars credit a 19th-century American agitator by the name of Julia Ward with initiating the concept. After hearing the stories of moms who had lost boys in the Civil War, Ward released a “Mother’s Day Declaration for Peace,” with the intention of making that day a day of harmony.
It was shot down at the time, but campaigner Anna Jarvis, whose mother had collaborated closely with Ward, helped turn it into a national holiday in the early 1900s.
Mostafa Amin, an Egyptian writer, revived the concept of Mother’s Day in the Arab world when he wrote about it in his books in 1943. Ten years later, he formally requested the holiday from the government and organized a campaign to promote it.
Amin’s interest in the subject began when a woman asked to meet with him at his publication to share her story of being a single parent and supporting her son through college, medical school, and the purchase of a home for his marriage. She explained that her son had ceased visiting her after he got married, and her inability to find anyone to care for her had led to her becoming mentally unwell.
When Amin proposed the idea to the minister of education, President Gamal Abdel Nasser authorized it and declared in 1956 that moms should formally be honored on March 21; the rest of the Arab world quickly followed suit.
Curiously, when Amin was imprisoned for alleged espionage for the United States, the Egyptian government renamed the holiday from Mother’s Day to Family Day. However, after receiving numerous messages of disapproval from Egyptian moms, they reverted back to the original name.
Today, Mother’s Day is celebrated in UAE on March 21, and everyone gives gifts and flowers to their mothers to appreciate them and honor them. The best Mother’s Day Flowers Delivery can be availed from the finest florist in Dubai now.
