The word “mother” is used in many contexts today from nursery rhymes about “Mother Goose” or “Old Mother Hubbard” to the country of our birth known as our “motherland” or a rich vein in mining being the “mother lode.” And, of course, we all know “you can’t fool Mother Nature!”

As we celebrate Mother’s Day this coming Sunday, I thought it might be interesting to look at some famous “mothers” through history. I chose three from the vast amount I found who made a special impact on the world. Mothers come in all shapes and sizes; some are biological and some are not. Their one special gift seems to be that they nurture, support and protect us through the storms of life. Here are some famous ladies who are still remembered long after their deaths.

My first choice was Eleanor Roosevelt, a champion of equal rights for all. Her humanitarian efforts on behalf of the poor and of children around the world earned her the love and respect of many. President Truman once referred to her as the “First Lady of the World.”

My second choice was Princess Diana. Her fairytale romance with Prince Charles turned into a nightmare but enabled Diana, in the short years left to her, to use her name and position to give hope and comfort to victims of poverty, disease and social injustice, especially children. Her open heart to both young and old became a shining example to others, while she remained a loving and supportive mother to her sons, William and Harry.

My third choice was Mother Teresa of Calcutta. A Saint, ministering to the sick and hungry and showering love and food on all who came to her Mission. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Although she was a friend to Kings, Princesses and Presidents, she continued to live a simple life in the third-world countries that desperately needed her help.

The Dictionary defines the word “mother” as follows:

“A female who has borne offspring; a female who adopts a child, or who otherwise holds a maternal relationship towards another. Anything that creates, nurtures, or protects something else.”

The above three women all fit that definition to perfection.

The origins of Mother’s Day can be traced back to Ancient Greece when spring celebrations honoured Rhea, the mother of the Gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated what was then called “Mothering Sunday” on the fourth Sunday of Lent. One feature of this day was that servants who worked and lived in the large homes of the wealthy were given the day off to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake known as the mothering cake was taken with them to help celebrate the day.

Mother’s Day came to North America in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe (the lady who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) suggested Mother’s Day should be a day dedicated to peace. She then helped organize Mother’s Day meetings in Boston every year.

Then, in 1907, Anna Jarvis began a campaign in Philadelphia to establish a national Mother’s Day and persuaded her late mother’s Church in Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second anniversary of her own mother’s death, which happened to be the second Sunday in May.

From Philadelphia the word spread as Anna Jarvis and her supporters wrote to ministers, politicians and businessmen to establish a national Mother’s Day and, by 1911, Mother’s Day was being celebrated in almost every state across America. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother’s Day as the second Sunday in May. England, meanwhile, still celebrate Mother’s Day in March.

Since then, this special day has been celebrated every year and although this event has tended to become overly commercialized around the world in more recent years, it is still a day when we honour mothers in a special way. At this time in history, it might also be appropriate to think back to Julia Howe’s original suggestion to dedicate Mother’s Day to peace around the world.

Happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere!