輕松英語閱讀：母親節的由來

What did you do on May 12th of this year? If you are like most people in Japan and America, chances are you spent the day with your mother. (In Korea they celebrate “Parent’s Day” on May 8, in Norway Mother’s Day is in February, and many other countries have the holiday on different days too). But it wasn’t always that way. In 1907, Anna Marie Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in West Virginia, and the next year founded the “Mother’s Day International Association.” After that, her suggestion caught on, and the holiday soon became the “Mother’s Day” we celebrate today.

One difference between the original Mother’s Day and the current holiday is that Jarvis was strongly against people making money from the holiday. Instead, she thought people should make handmade gifts and letters for their moms, and not buy any cards, flowers, or anything else.

So, what do you and your family do on Mother’s Day? If you want to celebrate the holiday like its founder intended, hopefully you did something nice for your mother … and didn’t spend any money!