International Mother's Day tomorrow

The day will be observed to honour mothers through giving gifts and greetings.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour 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" honoured the mothers of England.

In the United States the Mother's Day was started in 1872 by peace activist Julia Ward Howe, who was horrified by the carnage and suffering of the Civil War and wrote a proclamation calling on women to unite and oppose war.

Families of soldiers who were killed in war, Iraqis, and many others will join together on Mother's Day to oppose the war. CODEPINK and others are holding a number of actions all over the US to honour women.

There will be events in California and nationally to observe the effects of war and of immigration on mothers. Code Pink National will be holding a continuous 24-hour vigil in Washington, DC from May 13 to 14 outside the White House.

Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace.