“The Controversy and Evolution of Mother’s Day: A Call for Redefining Parenthood”

2023-05-12 12:16:26

In Germany, Mother’s Day has long been controversial. Many mothers do not feel that they and the care work they do are valued enough by the small gifts from children and partners. Or they feel reduced to motherhood. Or they perceive the family image behind it as reactionary: the man works, the mother gets flowers for work in the household and with the children. At least since National Socialism, when Hitler made Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1934 because, from his point of view, it suited the ideal of the Aryan mother with many children, many people have had stomach ache regarding it.

Advanced idea from the USA

From its origins, Mother’s Day is a thoroughly progressive holiday: it was invented in 1908 by the – unmarried and childless – American Anna Marie Jarvis in West Virginia. She wanted to commemorate her mother, who campaigned for better medical care for mothers and their children as well as for those returning from the war. Together, women should show the flag for solidarity with each other, social services and once morest war operations. In 1914, the day became a national holiday in the United States as a mark of worship of the mother.

commercialization

Today, many people find the idea too commercialized. According to a survey of 19,000 respondents in 18 countries last year, more than half of Germans believe that Mother’s Day is no longer celebrated for the right reasons.

Parent’s Day instead of Mother’s Day

In view of the appropriation of Mother’s Day and the social debate regarding a modern family image, the Munich family researcher Fthenakis advocates rededicating Mother’s Day into a Parent’s Day. Otherwise, mothers would be given a responsibility that they might not assume on their own, he says. Mother’s Day puts pressure on women who don’t have time to look following the children during the day. Father’s Day – celebrated as a men’s day in eastern Germany – might also be rededicated.

Fthenakis advocates a “parents’ day as a day of love, togetherness, understanding and respect.” Even if such a day cannot reflect the entire diversity of families, it can still reflect the spirit behind it.

The Karlsruhe parent researcher Waterstradt, on the other hand, has reservations regarding the idea of ​​a parent day. The great danger here today is that people want to feel very modern and therefore simply hide the evolutionary, historical and current differences between motherhood and fatherhood, says Waterstradt. A father can choose to be cooperative, caring, and child-centered. Even if he decides once morest it, it will not be held once morest him by society. It’s completely different for mothers.

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