英漢有聲：Let\'s Hear It for Mom!

 





 


Let's Hear It for Mom! 聽聽媽媽的故事

Where would we be without mothers, those tireless caregivers who wipe our noses, pack our lunches, cry at our weddings, and always consider us, though we may already be adults, their babies? Although we may often take our mothers for granted, Mother's Day serves to remind us to take the time to remember just how special they are.

The ancient Greeks and Romans were hip to how precious moms were; the predecessor to Mother's Day may very well have been a Greek spring festival dedicated to Rhea, mother of the gods and goddesses. In Rome, honoring mothers came in the form of a three-day celebration called Hilaria, where people worshipped the mother goddess Cybele. Some say these Roman ceremonies evolved into England's "Mothering Sunday", a celebration much like our modern Mother's Day, to honor Mary, mother of Christ.

It wasn't until 1910 that the first Mother's Day was proclaimed in the U.S. By the following year, however, each state had created its own observances, as had various nations around the world. American President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day an official national holiday in 1914. Nowadays, on the second Sunday of every May, people everywhere buy flowers, give chocolates, and send cards to the women who have raised them with love, courage, and devotion.

如果沒有媽媽不辭辛勞的照顧，我們會身在何處？媽媽幫我們擦鼻涕，為我們做午餐，在我們的婚禮上啜泣，始終把已經長大的我們當作寶貝細心嗬護。我們也許常把母親的付出視為理所當然的事情，但至少母親節這一天能提醒我們一下，應該記住母親有多麽的特別。

早在古希臘和古羅馬時代，母親的偉大就已倍受肯定。母親節的前身很可能是希臘某個春季的節慶，用以獻給眾神之母－－ 瑞意。在羅馬，榮膺表彰的母親們一齊聚集到希拉利雅，參加為期三天的慶典，人們在此祭祀眾神之母－－賽貝兒。有人認為，羅馬的慶典後來演化成英國人紀念聖母瑪利亞的“母親日”，那已經與現代母親節非常相似。

直到1910年，第一個母親節才由美國政府宣告確立。然而第二年，美國各州仍就紀念儀式各行其是，世界各國也各自為母親節舉辦各式各樣的活動。1914年，美國總統伍德羅·威爾 遜正式宣布母親節為國家假日。時至今日，在每年五月的第二個星期日，人們會用鮮花、巧克力、卡片等的禮物，送給用愛和勇氣、無私的奉獻撫育他們成長的偉大的母親。