Yes, the Bible does command children to honor, obey and respect their parents. (Eph. 6:1, 2) But nowhere does it advocate the commemoration of a special "Mother’s Day".
Jehovah's Witnesses avoid participating in any celebrations with non-Christian religious origins. Some may say Mother's Day does not have roots in ancient paganism and that it is presently considered a largely secular event. But the earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. On the origin of such observance, the Encyclopædia Britannica states:
“A festival derived from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Formal mother worship, with ceremonies to Cybele, or Rhea, the Great Mother of the Gods, were performed on the Ides of March throughout Asia Minor.”—(1959), Vol. 15, p. 849.
Regarding the adoption of Mother’s Day in the United States, the New York Times of May 10, 1953, reported:
“In spite of the popularity of Cybele, . . . and sporadic occasions honoring mothers during the Middle Ages, it was not until 1914 that the proper combination of sentimentality, idealistic promotion and hard business sense impelled the United States Congress to designate the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.”
"The traditional practice of honoring of Motherhood is rooted in antiquity. Ancient rites had strong symbolic and spiritual overtones, as societies tended to celebrate Goddesses and symbols of motherhood, rather than actual Mothers. Objects of adoration ranged from mythological female deities, to the Christian Church.
The personal, family orientation of Mothers Day is a relatively new phenomenon. Only in the past few centuries did celebrations of Motherhood develop a decidedly human focus, and only in last century did Mothers Day take on commercial overtones."- http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/ Heading: "Spiritual Origins of Mother's Day"
Further adding to this, the website Mother's Day 123 Holiday, under the heading "Mother's Day History", agrees by saying:
"Contrary to popular belief, Mother's Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark. The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele. Christians [?] celebrated this festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. In England this holiday was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday."
- http://mothers-day.123holiday.net/
So in view of the false religious background of Mother’s Day, is it not clear that Christians in the first century would not have commemorated these days? So, then, is it not right to shun such observances today and thus obey the Bible’s command to “quit touching the unclean thing”? (2 Cor. 6:17) If a holiday or custom is being deliberately participated in by a Christian, it must have absolutely no known pagan religion associations.
For more, see:
What is the origin of the practice of setting aside a day to honor mothers? (rs p. 176-p. 182; Watchtower Online Library)
What Is the Bible’s View? Are They Harmless Observances? (2/8/74 Awake!, p.27)
Paganism - Links to Information (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
Holidays - Links to Information (Defend Jehovah's Witnesses)
------------------------------------------------------------------
(To those who are not Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs), please remember that if you are looking for the authoritative information about the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society's (WTBTS) Bible-based beliefs and practices, you should look to our OFFICIAL WEBSITE at http://www.jw.org/en. Numerous publications as well as the New World Translation Bible (NWT) and the very useful Watchtower Online Library can be found there.)
.jpg)
.jpg)