People across the globe including Pakistan will celebrate Mother’s Day on May 13 (Sunday) to share their sentiments and express profound love for their mothers. The day to honour motherhood is celebrated on second Sunday of May and is a time to appreciate mothers and mother figures, expressing gratitude for the hardships they bear in bringing up a child. Like every year, the day will be marked with the old spirit and enthusiasm and public and private organizations as well as schools will arrange colourful programmes in connection with the Mother’s Day celebrations.
The mother’s week celebrations have started from Monday and the private channels are telecasting special transmission in this connection while electronic media will present different plays and shows to highlight the importance of the day and recognize the amazing role of the mothers. Though Mother’s Day celebrations take place at different times in the world but what is remarkably same are the feelings with which people celebrate Mother’s Day.
Several other countries celebrate their Mother’s Day on different dates depending upon what they have decided about the specific day. Mother Day is being celebrated in Pakistan and sub-continent for the past few years with zeal and zest.
The people can send and give Mothers day cakes, Mothers Day cards, Mum Mugs, Mothers day flowers, Mother Day Bears, Small Fruit or Gift basket, Special Mothers day Cakes and Sweets, Mothers day gifts hampers, Candies made for Mother Day, Chocolates for Mother Day. In the recent years, the most dedicated gifts for Mother’s Day were Flowers, Perfumes, Cake and special sweets.
Mothers are actually the guiding force and are responsible for developing the character and personality of a child. Mothers shape the lives of children and the Mothers Day is the opportunity to pay tribute to them for their contribution.
The tradition of Mothers Day started with the ancient Greeks who celebrated their annual spring festival in honor of Rhea, the mother of many Gods and Goddesses in the Greek mythology. Ancient Romans too celebrated a spring festival by the name of Hilaria in honor of Cybele, a mother goddess, some 250 years before Christ was born.
PC celebrates Mother’s Day with focus on maternal health: The Population Council has called for celebrating the International Mother’s Day with a focus on giving all mothers a chance to celebrate pregnancy and childbirth.
“Mother’s day is an occasion to pay tribute and offer gratitude to our mothers who have raised us facing many tribulations. In Pakistan, unfortunately, many households and families will be denied this opportunity because of the untimely deaths of mothers during pregnancy and child birth,” Dr Ali Mohammad Mir, Director Programs, Population Council said in connection with Mother’s day celebrations. According to Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006-07 and UNICEF, Pakistan has an alarmingly high Maternal Mortality Rate (276 maternal deaths per 100, 000 births) with an estimated 20,000 women losing their lives every year due to causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Just 16 percent of the poorest women give birth assisted by a skilled attendant.
He said that in Pakistan we must pursue strategies to ensure that all women have access to safe and effective maternal health services. “Islam places especial importance on the status of mothers. In fact heaven has been placed under the feet of mothers. He said that most of the maternal deaths are preventable as they occur in women who have pregnancies that are too closely spaced or too many, in women who are either too young or too old,” he said.
Dr Mir informed that one of the most effective and efficient ways of preventing maternal deaths is by spacing pregnancies. He said that according to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2006-07, 1 out of 3 births are spaced less than 2 years apart and presently less than 22 percent of women are using a modern contraceptive method.
