Hug a Mother Why Don’t You

Many countries celebrate a version of Mother’s Day, but the origins and dates vary from place to place. When we lived in London, we celebrated Mother’s Day in March. Those were the early days of cyber life when people still sent cards via snail mail, and I had to remember to stock up on cards to send in May for the U.S. mothers in my life before they all disappeared to make room for Easter.

Remembering those days kind of leaves me feeling nostalgic. I literally loved celebrating this occasion and so did some of my friends. They would bring expensive gifts for their mother with all the little savings they had. Some would even go further to buy an expensive necklace or ring from a jewelry store (similar to the one found on https://jacobsthejewellers.com/) to make their moms feel extra special. Anyway, it seems like those days are long gone.

At the time, however, I had no idea that Mother’s Day in the UK is really Mothering Sunday, and Mothering Sunday is all about honoring, I should say honouring, Mother Church. Well, this Jewish mum knew nothing of its Christian ties, so my expectations were completely North American in nature. All I wanted was a room somewhere….far away from the cold night air…with one enormous chair. No, that’s not it. I wanted me flowers and me chocolates and a bit of tipple, innit?

It seemed that most everyone else we knew there was also influenced by U.S. customs and consumerism, and few went to the church on Mothering Sunday. You might assume that I chose to surround myself with godless folk, and that may or may not be an accurate assumption. However, I would bet cash money that most of the Brits were taking a page from the U.S. calendar when they chose to spend the day with mum instead of Father.

In the spirit of religiosity, however, I will admit that it was quite a revelation for me to learn of all the different dates and celebrations throughout the world.

Spiffy interactive map via chartsbin.com. Hit that little “Key” button to drop the menu down out the way.

My ancestors come from Poland and Russia, and, in addition to being a U.S. citizen, I am a subject of the Queen of England. That should get me a few more breakfasts in bed, shouldn’t it? Perhaps I’ll wait until the boys are old enough to make breakfast, a proper breakfast without supervision, before I tell them that we are to recognize the Mother’s Days of all of our peoples. Alas, we are a few years away from Eggs Florentine, a bloody mary and the newspaper.

This Mother’s Day, Gabriella and I will be at Symphony Space in New York City to watch the 2^nd annual NYC http://stephanepereira.com/wp Listen To Your Mother show. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Listen To Your Mother is a national series of live readings by local writers in celebration of Mother’s Day. What began as one show in Madison, Wisconsin has expanded to 24 cities in its 4^th year. It’s no surprise, really. There is some amazing talent out there. Why, Lesbian Family’s guest contributor RoiAnn Phillips performed in Chicago this past week, our own Vikki Reich is co-director and cast member in Thursday’s Minneapolis show, and Polly Pagenhart is reading in San Francisco this Sunday.

If you are able to get to any of the remaining shows, I urge you to go and be a part of a growing movement to celebrate motherhood:

• Austin May 9, 2013 at AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center
• Boulder May 12, 2013 at The Dairy Center for the Arts
• Chicago May 5, 2013 at Athenaeum Theatre
• Denver May 7, 2013 at The Elaine Wolf Theatre
• Eastern Iowa May 12, 2013 at CSPS Hall
• Indianapolis May 2, 2013 at Indiana Historical Society
• Kansas City May 11, 2013 at Unity Temple on the Plaza
• Madison May 12, 2013 at Barrymore Theatre
• Milwaukee May 5, 2013, Wehr Hall at Alverno College
• New York City May 12, 2013 at Symphony Space
• Northern Utah May 9, 2013 at Thanksgiving Point
• NW Arkansas May 30, 2013 at Walton Arts Center
• NW Indiana May 10, 2013 at Memorial Opera House
• Oklahoma City May 5, 2013 at Will Rogers Theatre
• Plumas County May 15, 2013 at Town Hall Theater
• Providence May 4, 2013 at Providence Public Library Auditorium
• Raleigh-Durham May 8, 2013 at Kenan Auditorium
• Sacramento May 12, 2013 at The Crest Theatre
• San Francisco May 12, 2013 at Kanbar Hall in the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
• Spokane May 12, 2013 at Bing Crosby Theater
• St. Louis May 11, 2013 at St. Luke’s Institute for Health Education
• Twin Cities May 9, 2013 at Riverview Theater
• Washington, D.C. April 28, 2013 at Synetic Theater
• Wilmington May 12, 2013 at World Cafe Live at The Queen

As far as Sunday goes, enjoy the day no matter what your relationship to motherhood is. The mothers in the world would appreciate at least one day when no one is complaining.

Hashtag: HugAMother.