❶ The history of Mother’s Day

By Claudia/赵厚军（译）

◆语篇导读

母亲节，是感谢母亲的节日。在母亲节这天，人们通常会向母亲赠送贺卡或康乃馨等礼物，以表达对母亲的敬意。可你知道母亲节的由来吗？

The history of Mother's Day can be gone back to the times of ancient Greeks,when people held festivities to honor Rhea,the mother of thegods.The early Christians celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary,the mother of Christ.Interestingly,later on an orderstretchedthe holiday to include all mothers,and named it as the Mothering Sunday.The Englishcolonistslived in America stopped the tradition of the Mothering Sunday because of a little time.In 1872 Julia Ward Howe set up a day—Mother's Day,for mothers dedicated to peace.

In 1907,Anna Jarvis,a Philadelphia school teacher,began amovementto set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother,Ann Maria Jarvis.She asked for the help of hundreds of law officials and famous businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers.The first Mother's Day celebration was a church service honoring Anna's mother.Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers—thecarnations.Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year of 1914,when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Slowly and gradually,Mother's Day became a very popular and gift-giving activity increased.All thiscommercializationof the Mother’s Day made Anna angry,she believed that the day's feeling was being lost.

Although Anna worries about it,Mother's Day hasflourishedin the United States.Actually,the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year.

Today Mother's Day lives on and has spread to many other countries throughout the world.They celebrate Mother's Day at different times during the year,but some such as Denmark,Finland,Italy,Turkey,Australia,and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

◆词语积淀

god/ɡɒd/n.神；上帝

stretch/stretʃ/v.伸展；延伸

colonist/΄kɒlənɪst/n.殖民地定居者

movement/΄mu:vmənt/n.运动

carnation/kɑ:΄neɪʃn/n.康乃馨（花名）

slowly and gradually逐渐地

commercialization/kəˌmзːʃəlaɪ΄zeɪʃn/n.商业化

flourish/΄flʌrɪʃ/v.昌盛；繁荣

◆典句赏析

1.The history of Mother's Day can be gone back to the times of ancient Greeks,when people held festivities to honor Rhea,the mother of the gods.母亲节的由来可追溯到古希腊时期，当时，人们举行庆典纪念众神之母瑞亚。

该句为复合句。when引导的是非限制性定语从句，对先行词进行补充说明；go back是固定词组，意为“追溯；回到”。

【即时尝试】我喜欢与杰克交谈，他很聪明。

2.She asked for the help of hundreds of law officials and famous businessmen to create a special day to honor mothers.她请求数百名立法者和知名商人的帮助，创建了一个特殊的日子来纪念母亲们。

该句为简单句。ask for是固定词组，意为“请求；要求”，后面接名词或代词；the help of意为“……的帮助”，其中help是名词。

【即时尝试】玛丽要求给她时间来考虑这件事。

3.Although Anna worries about it,Mother's Day has flourished in the United States.尽管安娜对此很担忧，但母亲节已盛行于美国。

该句为复合句。although意为“尽管”，引导的是让步状语从句；worry about是固定词组，意为“为……而担心”，介词about不要误用为for。

【即时尝试】你不必为你的朋友担心。

（答案见第63页）

译文助读

母亲节的由来可追溯到古希腊时期，当时，人们举行庆典纪念众神之母瑞亚。早期的基督徒是在大斋节的第四个周日庆祝母亲节来纪念基督的母亲玛丽。有趣的是，后来的一项命令使这一节日意义延伸至所有的母亲，并将这一日命名为“母亲节”。在美国定居的英国殖民者由于缺少时间而停止了（庆祝）这项传统节日。1872年朱丽娅·沃德·霍为那些致力于和平的母亲们设立了一个节日——母亲节。

1907年，费城的一位教师，安娜·贾维斯，为纪念她的母亲安·玛利亚·贾维斯，发起了一项运动，要求设立一个全国性的母亲节。她请求数百名立法者和知名商人的帮助，创建了一个特殊的日子来纪念母亲们。第一个母亲节的庆祝活动是在一个教堂为安娜母亲举办的。当时，安娜送了她母亲最喜爱的花——康乃馨。安娜的努力终于在1914年得到了回报，时任总统伍德罗·威尔逊宣布将五月的第二个周日作为全国性的节日，以纪念母亲们。

渐渐地，母亲节变得非常流行，送礼活动也日趋增加。但是所有这些商业化的活动激怒了安娜，她认为这一天的意义都被扼杀了。

尽管安娜对此很担忧，但母亲节已盛行于美国。事实上，这一天已成为一年当中最受欢迎的日子了。

如今，母亲节依然存在，并已传播到世界上许多的国家，他们都会在一年的不同时间里庆祝母亲节。但有些国家如丹麦、芬兰、意大利、土耳其、澳大利亚和比利时依旧在五月份的第二个周日庆祝母亲节。