By Karen Bloom
Enchant mom with a delightful day at Old Westbury Gardens. Treat her to a tour of Westbury House, bring a picnic lunch for a delightful picnic among spring's glorious blooms (or visit the Cafe in the Woods). Don't miss a stroll in the fragrant Lilac Walk, with Old Westbury Gardens' master gardener and docent Barbara Levine, at 1 p.m. Mom will be transported by the beauty and fragrance of these historic and fascinating plants.Old Westbury Gardens is located at 71 Old Westbury Rd., Westbury. For further information, contact (516) 333-0048 or www.oldwestburygardens.org.
Nassau County Museum of Art
If mom is an art lover, visit Nassau County Museum of Art for where NCMA's concludes its Reginald Marsh retrospective. A glimpse of New York in the heydays of the early 20th century can be found in the colorful flamboyant works of Reginald Marsh.The retrospective captures Marsh's New York in all - from the glamour to the mundane. From the upper crust elite to ordinary working people, it all caught Marsh's eye. Also check out "Infamous New York: Bosses, Burlesque & Mayhem," a companion exhibit of painting, graphics and photography. As a added treat, feast on the major works of Monet, Miro, Valtat, and Vuillard, in the Library Gallery. These works, on loan from private collections, include some which have not been previously seen by the public.The family will enjoy NCMA's "Family Sunday," which features a free walk-through of the exhibit at 1 p.m., along with live music all afternoon.Nassau County Museum of Art is at One Museum Dr., off Northern Blvd., in Roslyn Harbor. For information, contact (516) 484-9337 or www.nassaumuseum.com.
Cruising and Dining
Treat mom to something different, with a relaxing afternoon on Nautical Cruise Lines' luxury yachts. Enjoy a brunch or dinner cruise, with a DJ & dancing, while seeing the sights along our scenic south shore. You'll visit scenic Mansion Harbor, Parsonage Cove, Long Beach, Lido Beach, Point Lookout Beach and the rest of Long Island's glorious south shore. The brunch cruise sails at 12 p.m. and returns at 3:30 p.m.; the dinner cruise leaves at 1:30 p.m. and returns at 5 p.m. Reservations are required. 28A Woodcleft Ave, Freeport. For information/reservations, contact (516) 623-5712.
How Mother's Day Came To Be
Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not concocted in the boardroom of Hallmark.
Historians claim that the holiday of Mother's Day emerged from the ancient festivals dedicated to mother goddess. In the ancient Greek empire, Rhea, the wife of Cronus, and mother of Gods and Goddesses, was worshipped.
In Rome too, Cybele, a mother Goddess, was worshipped, as early as 250 BC. Known as Hilaria, the festival lasted for three days, and was called the Ides of March, that is from March 15 to March 18.
However, neither of them meant for the honoring of our immediate mothers, as is done in our Mother's Day.
Christians celebrated a festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.
In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day."
Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.
In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. She began to lobby prominent businessmen and politicians to support her campaign to create a special day to honor mothers. In 1914 her hard work paid off when President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.
Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.
