QUARTERLY REVIEW

Holiday History

Spring begins on March 20th and ends on June 20th. This time of year represents the world’s natural resurrection, when all new life burgeons forth. The world is born anew.

Easter
April 8

The symbol of the Easter Bunny originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earth symbol, the rabbit. The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

 

April Fools
April 1st

The Ancient New Years Celebration origins are unknown. It is worth noting that many different cultures have had days of foolishness around the start of April, give or take a couple of weeks. The Romans had a festival named Hilaria on March 25th, rejoicing in the resurrection of Attis. The Hindu calendar had Holi, the Jewish calendar has Purim. Perhaps there is something about the time of year, with its turn from winter to spring.

 

Mother's Day
May 9th

Historians claim that the holiday of Mother’s day was born from the ancient festivals dedicated to mother goddesses. In ancient Greece, Rhea, the wife of Cronus and mother of all Gods and Goddesses was worshipped as the mother of everyone. These Mother Festivals were not for honoring our mothers. Our current Mother’s day celebrations are for honoring our own Mothers. Our Mother’s day is most similar to the “Mothering Sunday” observed in England. Mother’s day was brought to the United States by Anna M. Jarvis (1864 – 1948).

 

Memorial Day
May 31st

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting any war.

Father's Day
June 20th

In the early twentieth century to compliment Mother’s Day in celebrating fatherhood and parenting by males, and to honor and commemorate fathers and forefathers. The date of Father’s Day varies from country to country as well as the way in which it is celebrated.