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The history of Mothers' Day
母親節(jié)的歷史
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.
在美國，人們在5月的第二個星期天慶祝母親節(jié)。在這一天，孩子們把卡片、禮物和鮮花獻給他們的母親。1907年，費城是第一個慶祝母親節(jié)的城市,是由朱麗婭伍德霍夫和安娜賈維斯分別在1872年和1997年提議設立的。
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.
雖然美國直到1907年才慶祝母親節(jié)，但是向母親致敬的節(jié)日甚至可以追溯到古希臘。盡管那時人們是慶祝眾神之母瑞亞。
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.
后來，在17世紀初的英格蘭,人們有了一個慣例,就是在每年6月的第4個星期天慶祝“母親的星期天”。在母親的星期天那一天，與雇主住在一起的仆人們通常被勸說回家和他們的母親團聚。按照慣例,他們要帶一塊特殊的蛋糕回家慶祝。
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.
隨著基督教在歐洲的傳播，這一天逐漸演變?yōu)椤澳赣H禮拜日”， 以紀念給予基督徒生命和保護他們不受傷害的精神力量。再以后，“媽媽禮拜日”和“媽媽的星期天”逐漸合為一體。此后,人們在這一 天既慶祝母親的節(jié)日又舉行基督教的禮拜。
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,美國的朱麗婭伍德霍夫首次提出設立母親節(jié)的建議,用以紀念和平。繼而在1907年，人們掀起了一場設立國家母親節(jié)的運動。這項運動取得了成功，到1911年的時候,美國幾乎每個州都開始慶祝母親節(jié),以表達對母親們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，在美國有一個來自費城的叫安娜賈維斯的人，她發(fā)起了一場建立全國性的母親節(jié)的運動。在西弗吉尼亞的格拉夫頓,賈維斯說服了她母親的教堂,在她母親去世2周年的紀念日那一天慶祝母親節(jié)，即5月的第二個星期天。下一年，費城也慶祝了母親節(jié)。
Jarvis and others began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother’s Day.
賈維斯和其他人開始給部長、商人以及政治家們寫信,要求建立全國性的母親節(jié)。
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，伍德羅威爾遜總統(tǒng)宣布“母親節(jié)之母”安娜瑞斯文賈維斯夫人的生日為“美國國家母親節(jié)”。從那時起,每年5月的第二個星期天定為母親節(jié)，以紀念在內(nèi)戰(zhàn)結束后賈維斯夫人在使家庭團聚方面所作出的種種努力,她的工作使美國南北得以統(tǒng)一，給歷史上所有美國母親都帶來了榮譽,并且這種榮譽會一直持續(xù)下去。但是這個節(jié)日最主要的還是為了感謝被人們 尊稱為“國母”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.
世界上許多其他國家在全年的不同時間慶祝他們自己的母親節(jié)。丹麥、芬蘭、意大利、土耳其、澳大利亞以及比利時同美國一樣，在5月的第二個星期天慶祝母親節(jié)。
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,現(xiàn)在母親節(jié)的價值是什么呢？首先,就像在1914年國會所宣稱的一樣，它提醒人們不要忘記母親在塑造良好公民方面所作出的努力。賈維斯夫人就是這樣一位母親。在母親節(jié)人們更加關注每個母親是否真的扮演好了自己的角色，教會孩子什么是對、什么是錯、什么是好、什么是壞。
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.
如果慶祝母親節(jié)能在提醒母親們自身責任重大方面起到哪怕一點點兒作用的話,那么這一天也是有助于家庭和整個社會發(fā)展的。
