Rojda Oğuz/JINHA

İSTANBUL – The festivals, were held in honour of Rhea in ancient Greece and Cybele in ancient Rome, have continued to live with “Mother’s Day” that is dedicated to the spirit of the Mother goddess for hundred years. Mothers in Turkey and Kurdistan meet the Mother's Day without their children.

Origin of Mother's Day goes back to the era of ancient Greek and Romans. The earliest history of Mothers Day dates back to the ancient annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to maternal Goddesses. The Greeks used the occasion to honor Rhea, wife of Cronus and the mother of many deities of Greek mythology. Ancient Romans, too, celebrated a spring festival, called Hilaria dedicated to Cybele, a mother goddess. It may be noted that ceremonies in honour of Cybele began some 250 years before Christ was born. Mother's Day is observed the second Sunday in May. Male-dominant mentality has begun with annihilation of the Mother goddess of the era; Male-dominant mentality blend both motherhood and Mother's Day with capitalism and aim to cause women to forget the historical value of today. As the Saturday Mothers have left behind 580th week, Peace Mothers have campaigned everywhere in Turkey and Kurdistan. Mothers said that the most beautiful gift that can be given to mothers is a world without war.

One of the Peace Mothers Bedia Gök's only consolations is bringing flowers at the grave of her child, “Some mothers cannot bring flowers at the grave of their children. Some mothers don’t know where graves of their children are. Mothers collected their children’s burned bones in Cizre. Every mother's Day my pain revives again. We are mothers; however, mothers face to violence in the Parliament. They break the hearts of mothers. Mother is mother everywhere. The Mother’s Day is same for us, because we campaign in the streets everytime.

Another Peace Mother Perihan Ada, “We never want the mother of soldiers and guerillas cry. We never separate the mothers. Mother is mother.”

Güler Buğday, another Peace Mother, said, “Mother’s Day means a world without war for me. Mother’s Day is like a festival for all mothers. It is a day of festival atmosphere that mothers hug their children. A country without my children isn’t a country. Don’t let our children be a victim of the AKP government. We have demanded peace for years. Mothers must say, “Enough”. Don’t let other children be killed.”

(ck/mg/gd)