Friday, January 20, 2012

Shaftsbury Elementary Students Celebrate a Thai Mother’s Day



In each country and every culture, the tradition of “Mother’s Day” is celebrated across the globe with different traditions. The students at Shaftsbury Elementary school had the chance to learn about how families in Thailand celebrate Mother’s Day with the help of Visiting Scholar Parisa.

Mother's Day in Thailand is on August 12th, and it is also Her Majesty Queen Sirikit's birthday.” Explain Parisa. Since 1976, celebrations for the Queen’s birthday and for mothers are celebrated on the same say as the Queen is regarded as mother to all Thai people because of her benevolence towards the needy and poor in the nation.

In Thailand, Parisa explained, preparations for the Queen’s birthday start a few weeks before August 12th, with people all around the country raising national flags and decorating their houses with the portrait of Her Majesty the Queen.  On August 12th, Thai people also thank their mothers for her unconditional love by giving alms to monks and presenting their mother’s with white Jasmine flowers. In Thailand, white jasmine flowers are the symbol of maternal love. 

During the lesson, students made their own Thai Mother’s Day cards and attached a piece of white jasmine on the card. As in Thailand, the mothers’ of the Shaftbury students were encouraged to respond to the cards with a small comment. As Mother’s Day falls in the month of May in America, the mother’s of the students were surprised by the showing of love, and the beautiful flowers.

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