Happy Mother's Day!

In the United States, Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British (Mother's) day and was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War. However, it was intended as a call to unite women against war. In 1870, she wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament......Written in 1870, Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. The Proclamation was tied to Howe's feminist belief that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.

Mother's Day in Ethiopia occurs in mid-fall when the rainy season ends. Called “Antrosht,” Ethiopians celebrate by making their way home when the weather clears for a large family meal and a three day long celebration. For the feast the children bring ingredients for a traditional hash recipe. The ingredients are divided along gender lines, with girls bringing butter, cheese, vegetables and spices while the boys bring a bull or lamb. The mother prepares the hash and hands it out to the family. After the meal a celebration takes place. The mothers and daughters ritually anoint themselves with butter on their faces and chests. They dance while the men sing songs in honor of family and heroes. This cycle of feasting and celebration lasts two or three days. The picture to the right represents a traditional Ethiopian depiction of Jesus and Mary with distinctively "Ethiopian" features.

Here's a shout out to the wonderful mothers in my life who deserve honoring: mummy, grams, melinda, tina, alexis, kristin, yumi, miwa, wendy, natalie, becky, diane & katelyn. It is with great honor that I look towards the future of motherhood and thank all the mothers in my life - god bless you.