Putnam patriot., 1927-05-06
TWENTY YEARS WITH MOTHERS DAY. TO
 NORWICH BULLETIN BE OBSERVED SUNDAY
Commended By Congress, 1913, For Its Own Observance
 Became Nationwide
Custom Date. Back to Ancient Time,

American soldiers and sailors the world over are being urged by ths l secretaries of war and of the navy Co write letters to their mothers on Mothers Day, next Sunday. The re- quest that the letters be written "as | an expression of the love and rever= ence they owe to the mothers of our country" has been transmitted Co every military and naval station and l includes every officer and enlisted man
 The modern observance of Mothers Day originated through the efforts of Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. It was suggested that on the second Sunday of May all persons should show their love and respect for their mothers by some tribute if living by gift or letter; if dead. by some kind deed to another person. The white carnation was selected as an emblem of the day because fits whiteness stands for purity. it's form for beauty. its fragrance for love, and it's wide field of growth for charity" {"
 On May 10, 1913, a resolution pas sed the United States Senate and House Of representatives commend ing Mothers Day for observance by Congress. the president of the United States, and heads of departments. In the same year Nebraska made Moth CTS Day state flag day in honor of the patriotism of Nebraska's true homes and mothers. It is widely ob served throughout the United States, but s not a legal holiday.
 To Ancient Time
 Although the formal designation of Mothers Day was but recently made in this country, the custom of display ing flial veneration dates back to ancient times It ante-dates the Christian era, was displayed in rites and ceremonies in pagan days and strikes deep into primitive emotions
 Authorities state that perhaps the earliest recorded formal mother wor- ship lies in the tales of ceremo 1-I ies by which Rhea. the Great Mother of the gods" was worshipped in Asia Minor. The worship of Rhea was introduced to Rome through Greece about 250 years before Christ. Cere- monies were held on the ldes of March. when people made offerings in the temple, and the occasion was known as Festival Of Hilaria.
 Wiih the advent of the Christian era the festival still retained it's ol i forms but made further advance and became infused with a new spirit. | There developed an observance in 1 honor of the mother church. In this celebration t became the custom of . mid-Eent Sunday for the faithful toI visit the church in which they were haptized. bearing gifts for the altar From this festival Uf worship in hon or of the mother church there grew the observance of Mothering Sunday, 1 though the successive steps in this development are not clear. l. is eer-l tain. however. that long age. when young men and maidens were bound out as apprentices and as servants. mid-Lent Sunday was set aside for them 10 visit their mothers, taking for them some little present. such as al cake or trtnket.
 No Unbroken Line
 It is a far cry from this quaint ob- servance in England of mid-Lent toI our American Mothers Day There isI no unbroken line of descent to theI present observance from the holiday when English apprentices went a-mothering. though the modern fes- tival is perhaps the most conscious and deliberate effort nation ever made to honor motherhood.
 The observance of the second Sun day in May as Mothers Day has now become firmly established in the United States and has been introduced feet of the setting aside of the day is to those who remain and to foster Co honor the memories of mothers who have gone, to brighten the lives among men, women and children the love of their homes and their parents