Mother's Day
Description:
Knitted tirelessly on long cold evenings.
I will receive a message from my home country.
And in it is the smell of the hearth.
The lines of this old and kind Mother's Song (1958) are known to all Japanese. On May 13, it will, of course, reverberate in many homes, a reminder of great maternal love and care.
Mother’s Day in Japan was discovered in 1915 by a foreigner, a professor at Aoyama Gakuin Missionary University. Groups of Christian believers contribute to the spread of the holiday throughout the country, holding festive services in churches and readings in Sunday schools. But conservative society is not yet ready to embrace the innovation. Society, which has long belittled the status of women, does not consider the daily work of the mother for the benefit of the family, for children, something special, worthy of gratitude and a festive day.
Time is passing, and pre-war Japan of the 30s is rapidly strengthening its militaristic orientation, nurturing a new ideology. An integral part of the new ideology is the symbol of the Emperor-God and the greatness of the imperial family. Since 1931, Mother’s Day has been established on March 6, exactly the birthday of the wife of the living Emperor, emphasizing her historical significance as “Mothers of all Japanese people”.
After losing World War II and defeating Emperor Hirohito, post-war Japan became the object of the introduction of American culture, and, as a consequence, since 1947, Mother’s Day has been moved to the second Sunday in May. Congresses of women are held in the country, mothers are invited to schools, glorifying their work.
For a long time in the country there was a tradition on Mother's Day to pin a carnation on the chest - a symbol of the mother's love for the child. Red carnations were decorated with clothes of children whose mothers are alive, and white – children who have lost mothers. I asked the older Japanese if they remembered the red and white carnations. Yes, everyone remembers how on the general red-carnation background stood out classmates with white flowers. Everyone remembers how sad and cheered each other up. In the 60s, the white carnation was abolished for ethical reasons, and the red carnation accompanies Mother’s Day in Japan to this day.
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In recent years, the celebration of Mother’s Day in Japan has become increasingly commercial, often replacing the concept of “expressing gratitude” with the banal action of “giving a gift”. On Sunday it becomes lively, all sorts of sales, lotteries are arranged, discounts on running goods are provided. On the eve of this day, the shelves of department stores are abundantly filled with traditional "goods for moms." Blouses, aprons, purses, handbags, kitchen utensils, jewelry, sweets - and this, of course, is only part of the materialized feelings from which the Japanese choose a gift, invariably putting a red carnation on it. It is noticeable that this year the reminder of Mother’s Day is actively heard from television screens – advertising large companies producing chocolate and other sweets, urges you not to forget to use their product, the most proven and favorite gift.
But whatever stereotypes that represent Japanese society and the position of women in it exist in the world, Japanese people appreciate and love their mothers. Every Japanese knows that “the center of the Japanese family (read society) is the mother woman.” Men are incredibly comfortable and reassuringly calm from such a consciousness. And isn't that beautiful?
As a conclusion.
In the city where I live, there has been a tradition for many years. A day or two before Mother’s Day, kindergarten kids gather in the large parking lot of the city and give red carnations to passing drivers, amicably and diligently concluding at the same time: “We ask you not to violate traffic rules!”