Mother's Day - yet another thing to divide women

I'm linking up with an old post, as I'm having a day off from the computer to see my mother (and hopefully sneak in a movie on the way!). I am glad I didn't see this carry on this year around, but last year I was well & truly fired up. Linking up with a Mother's Day post on Sunshine Sundays.

I saw this on Facebook today, and it made me furious. "Is it horrible to think that your idea of a perfect Mother's Day is a day without your children?" We are all used to the bottle vs breast feeding debate, the working Mother vs SAHM battlelines and the anti-daycare brigade. But Mother's day? This is now used as a thing to divide women? I was floored. Why is motherhood constantly used as a thing to pit women against each other? And why do women so easily buy into this divisive behaviour that the media constantly throws at us?

Firstly, a little history on Mothers Day - and remember, these facts have been rattling around in my head for a long time, so perhaps Wikipedia will have more factual facts - but this is my understanding of the origins of Mother's Day. In the UK, the Mothering Sunday ay was so servants and factory workers that lived away from their families and worked every day, could have a day off to see their children (and mothers?). One day a year.

In the US, it started as a thing for adult children to write a letter to their mothers and show their appreciation of their mother. The woman who campaigned this holiday later petitioned to cancel it when it became over commercialised with flowers and cards (I believe she said 'it's a sorry state of affairs when a son can't put pen to paper').

It was never meant to be about presents, but we seem to have no issue with that (and in some weird thing, Australia is one of the few countries that see perfume as a promoted Mothers Day idea). Why don't we get all outraged at those who accept gifts on Mother's Day? It was never meant to be about Motherhood in general. It was about you, the adult, making an effort for your mother, whom you no longer lived with.

Will anyone be posing the question "Is it right to accept a gift from your husband on Mother's Day, or should he only give to his own Mother?" No, because that wouldn't divide women and have them throw on their judgmental capes.

No one is asking "Do you manage to see both your own Mother and your Mother in Law on the same day? How do you decide who misses out?" No, that won't be asked or probably even considered by the media.

But how about those "horrible mothers" that want a break? Why does anyone even care? Do people care if you celebrate Christmas lunch or dinner?

You know what I think is horrible? Using Mother's Day as a tool to divide women for the sake of social media sport.  If you want to celebrate motherhood, don't buy into the debate!