Mother's Day History
Origin of Mother's Day goes back to the era of ancient Greek and Romans. But the roots of Mother's Day history can also be traced in UK where a Mothering Sunday was celebrated much before the festival saw the light of the day in US. However, the celebration of the festival as it is seen today is a recent phenomenon and not even a hundred years old. Thanks to the hard work of the pioneering women of their times, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis that the day came into existence. Today the festival of Mothers day is celebrated across 46 countries (though on different dates) and is a hugely popular affair. Millions of people across the globe take the day as an opportunity to honor their mothers, thank them for their efforts in giving them life, raising them and being their constant support and well wisher.

Earliest History of Mothers Day
The earliest history of Mothers Day dates back to the ancient annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to maternal goddesses. The Greeks used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology.
Ancient Romans, too, celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. It may be noted that ceremonies in honour of Cybele began some 250 years before Christ was born. The celebration made on the Ides of March by making offerings in the temple of Cybele lasted for three days and included parades, games and masquerades. The celebrations were notorious enough that followers of Cybele were banished from Rome.

Early Christians celebrated a Mother's Day of sorts during the festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honor of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ. In England the holiday was expanded to include all mothers. It was then called Mothering Sunday.

Fathers' Day
In the 1900s, Fathers’ Day was created when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd wanted to express her deep appreciation to her own father, William Smart, who was widowed when his wife died at giaing binfh. Mr. Smart raised his six children on a rural farm in eastern Washington State. When Ms. Dodd was grown she wanted to show her appreciation to her father. So, in 1909, she proposed a day to honor her father in June (the month of her father's birth).
The very first Fathers' Day followed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge showed support of this becoming a national holiday. However, it wasn't until 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson officially proclaimed Fathers' Day a national holiday to be celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June.
父親節(jié)

二十世紀(jì)初，蘇娜·路易絲·史墨·多德想要向他的父親威廉·史墨表達(dá)敬意，于是產(chǎn)生了父親節(jié)。她父親在他妻子難產(chǎn)而死以后，就一直鰥居。史墨先生在東華盛頓州的農(nóng)莊中獨力撫養(yǎng)大六個孩子。當(dāng)多德女士長大成人后，她覺得要向父親致敬。于是，在1909年她提議在六月里一天向父親表達(dá)敬意。（她父親在六月生日）

第一個父親節(jié)在1910年6月19日在華盛頓，史布肯慶祝了。1924年，卡文·柯立芝總統(tǒng)表示支持，并將此確立為國家的節(jié)日。然而，直到1966年，林頓·約翰遜總統(tǒng)才正式宣布六月的第三個星期天為父親節(jié)，在全國正式地慶祝。