CRI English Unit 36:Happy Mother's Day 快乐母亲节

Part 1 The History of Mother's Day 母亲节的历史 

    The earliest Mother's Day celebrations are traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday", celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

    During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

    As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" -- the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from hamp3. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

    All across the world, more than 46 countries honor mothers with a special day, but not all nations celebrate on the same day. We honor mothers with cards, candy, flowers and dinner out. But have you ever considered how this became a legal holiday in the United States?

    In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace. In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

    Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful, by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

    The one-woman crusade of Ana Jarvis is often overlooked in history books because women during the early 1900s were engaged in so many other refomp3 efforts, but it is likely that these other refomp3s helped pave the way for Anna Jarvis to succeed in her campaign for Mother's Day.

    While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

    五月，一个美丽如花的季节，因为一个特殊的节日，而将它点缀得更加多姿多彩，那就是母亲节。

    关于母亲节的来源，有历史学家声称最早可能是在古希腊，人们庆祝“莉雅”女神的节日。这个女神就是宙斯的母亲。

    但是到了十七世纪的英国，教会把庆祝“莉雅”女神的节日改为表达对耶稣之母马利亚的崇敬，订四旬斋的第四个星期日为 Mothering Sunday。甚至后来人们加入教会的受洗仪式都订在母亲节这一天。象征人们从教会（Mother Church）重生（rebirth）。

    另外还有一个关于英国母亲节的传说。那时许多穷人，叫孩子去有钱人家帮佣，住在主人家里。直到 Mothering Sunday这一天，主人们会放他们假，让大家可以返家与母亲团聚。那天这些年轻人就会带着一种特别的蛋糕（mothering cake），与一些小礼物送给母亲。

    在美国，母亲节后来也成为安慰在战争中失去儿子或先生的女性的节日。在当天，人们配戴康乃馨向母亲致敬。母亲若尚健在者，佩带红色康乃馨；若母亲已过世，则佩带白色，以表示怀念。

    在美国，以写《共和国战歌》而闻名的女作家朱莉亚·瓦德·霍耶（Julia Ward Howe），曾建议在六月中选定某一天为“母亲节”。由于美国内战的爆发，许多母亲感受到战争的恐怖，及失去爱子的痛苦，朱莉亚极力鼓吹订一个节日以提倡和平。她的建议只被少数几个地方采纳了。

    一九○七年，一位叫做Ana Jarvis的美国妇女写信给格拉夫顿教堂的牧师，请他为已逝世两周年的妈妈做个特别的追思礼拜。当天，Ana捐赠了五百朵妈妈生前最喜欢的花─白色的康乃馨，送给所有参加仪式的小孩和母亲。

    第二年，教堂便正式宣布，Ana Jarvis母亲逝世的三周年忌日为母亲节。但是当天Jarvis却没有出席，因为她正在费城忙着组织一个母亲节委员会。 在这个委员会的协助下，安娜开始发动大规模的写信运动。她写信给数以百计的教堂、商业领袖、报纸编辑、政治家等，要求他们加入制定母亲节为国定假日的活动。

    一九一○年，西维吉尼亚州州长响应了她的请求，并发表第一个母亲节的宣言，要求所有的西维吉尼亚人，在五月的第二个星期日，佩带白色的康乃馨上教堂。而俄克拉荷马州及华盛顿州，也在那一年开始庆祝母亲节。到一九一一年，母亲节的礼拜活动便在全美各州举行。

    Ana Jarvis的努力，终于在一九一四年的五月八日开花结果，因为国会通过一项联合决议，要求美国人在那一年五月的第二个星期日悬挂国旗，以表达对全美国母亲无比的尊敬和爱意。第二天早上，安娜成为美国白宫的客人，亲眼看着威尔逊总统签署这项决议。

Part 2 Mother Knows Best 妈妈知道什么对你最好 

Dialogue Script 1  对话原文 1 

Mom: Jimmy! Why aren't you up and ready for school?
Jimmy: I don't feel very good.
Mom: Jimmy, if you're acting sick just because you want to play hooky...
Jimmy: (Coughing) No, Mom, I'm really sick.
Mom: Oh, that's a nasty cough. Let me feel your head. (feels his forehead) You're on fire!
Jimmy: Mom!???
Mom: I know, sweetheart. Just open wide. Don't talk. (takes temperature)
Jimmy: Mmm...
Mom: (Takes themp3ometer out) Oh, you've got a fever. One-oh-one...time to break out the children's Tylenol.
Jimmy: I have the chills. Can you turn on the heater?
Mom: We're not turning on the heater in May! You need to take a bath. We'll heat you up and see if you can sweat this thing out.