Mother's Day is a time of commemoration (纪念) and celebration for Mom. It is a time of breakfast in bed, family gatherings, and crayons scribbling "I Love You".
The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be dated1to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During2, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of3. In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872by Julia Ward Howe. In 1907, Anna Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign (运动) to establish (建立) a 4Mother's Day. Ms Jarvis persuaded (说服) her mother's church in Grafton. West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary (周年纪念日) of her mother's 5, the 2nd Sunday of May. And the next year Mother's Day 6in Philadelphia. Ms Jarvis and her supporters began to7officials, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful.8 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every9. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, announced Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held on the 2nd Sunday of May each year.
While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at10throughout 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.
Are you learning English and do you need help with grammar? Do you want to learn new vocabulary or slang (俚语)? Well, you can find help online with these top 5 free English as a Second Language websites.
Dave's ESL Cafe
This is a complete website that can help you learn and practise English. You can read many stories and do a lot of exercises to test yourself. You can also post questions and answers onto the help centre.
About.com
You can get free English courses from About.com and you'll get regular e-mails that will help you learn English.
The Classroom by Voice of America
You can watch videos and listen to news stories to improve your listening and vocabulary skills. You can also hear English words and their meanings.
Heinle's Newbury House Dictionary of American English
Do you need to find the definition of a word? Use this online dictionary to find simple and clear definitions, as well as example sentences and idioms (习语). You can also find different cultural facts.
Personal English Portal (门户网站) on YouTube
You can watch this series of videos on YouTube to develop your listening skills. You can also do a search for “learn English” on YouTube to find other videos. This is a good way to practise English and have fun.
