Honoring a mother is something that pleases God, as it is written in the Ten Commandments from God’s hand: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). This fifth commandment, preceded by the fourth, the Sabbath of the Lord, embodies a secret about the life expectancy. Nevertheless, is Mother’s Day suitable for those who want to honor God?

What is the origin of Mother’s Day?

History reveals that Mother’s Day is a tradition that was celebrated in Greek mythology, where Zeus’s mother, Rhea, was celebrated in the spring, while pagan rites also marked this season as a time of celebration of fertility. However, even though these pagan rites have been integrated into Christianity, it must be recognized that they are not compatible, as there are notions related to ancestor worship when speaking with a deceased mother, for example. The Bible reveals that this is a form of idolatry and a way for spirits or demons to influence us by taking on the voice and even the appearance of a loved one. Even if you have lost a loved one, trust only in Jesus, for he alone can comfort and advise you. He is the savior of the world and he understands your pain.

“Let no one be found among you who…who consults with the spirits of the dead or practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer.” Deuteronomy 18:11

“Thus says the Lord: Do not imitate the ways of the nations.” Jeremiah 10:2

In the United States, the Mother’s Day Proclamation was initiated in 1870 by activist Julia Ward Howe, who invited mothers from around the world to unite to obtain peace. However, it is Anna Jarvis who is considered the founder of the international version that we know today. She created specific “clubs” for mothers with the aim of peaceful unity, in honor of her own deceased mother in 1905. In 1912, she created the International Mother’s Day Association. In 1914, the United States officially made Mother’s Day a national holiday. Even today, the carnation is often associated with this special day. White represents a living mother, while red represents a deceased mother.

Mother’s Day, as we know it today in Christian traditions, is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, also known as Laetare Sunday. It was a form of celebration of motherhood for Catholics and Protestants where families often went to the most important church in the region, called the “mother church,” for an annual religious ceremony. This practice is the origin of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom, which was once called “Mothering Sunday.” Mother’s Day celebrations held on Sundays show another incompatibility with God’s Ten Commandments, as they show that the day of worshiping God is Sunday, whereas the Bible teaches that the seventh day, the Sabbath, which falls on Saturday, is the day of rest of the Lord (Exodus 20:8-11).

The Bible teaches us that God created mankind free to choose by setting before them the blessing and the curse. Everyone is free to do what they want, but it is important to know that God would have preferred that people turn to him to worship him as their Creator and Savior, in order to do them good.

Thus, God desires that we honor our mothers without imitating the customs of the nations in order to be in accordance with His will and to honor Him as the Creator and Redeemer.

Our calendars are filled with holidays whose origins we often ignore, but did you know that God also has a calendar with feasts that has been forgotten or set aside since the Council of Nicaea? History reveals to us that the early Christians celebrated the feasts of the Lord to glorify Jesus Christ without the obsolete sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament. To learn more, click on Restored Biblical Calendar.

The Wave Sheaf Offering

According to the Restored Biblical Calendar for the year 2023, Sunday, May 14, 2023 corresponds to the wave sheaf offering in the Old Testament, which represented the prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday, April 29, 31 on the Julian calendar. This also reminds us that all those who have believed in Jesus and accepted him in their hearts will rise again on the last day to enter his eternal kingdom where evil no longer exists.