International Women’s Day
Today, March 8th, is International Woman’s Day. In Italy this day is known as Festa della Donna (how poetic), and on this day this column is usually devoted to a special woman who changed history. Not today.
While reading the history of Jasper County, there were famous men, but never famous women. The old saying, “Behind every great man is a great woman,” but do we ever read about the great woman? Rarely. The other, funny, but probably true, quote is, “Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.”
From birth to age three are the most formable years in your life. It’s the ages when you learn about morals, acceptable behavior, learn by seeing and hearing, the sponge age. Be forewarned young parents if you don’t want to hear your words coming out of that innocent babe’s mouth, well, just be forewarned. How many times do you hear someone say, “That’s how my mother did it”?
So, all these great men had someone whether it was a great mother, wife, other female that pushed them to greatness or influenced decisions. Where is their recognition?
In the United States and other countries, Mother’s Day is celebrated for mothers, but what about women in general? International Woman’s Day. In fact, March is designated as Women’s History Month. Georgia has a Georgia Woman’s Hall of Fame. Take a few minutes to read the history of some of these women, famous not for their husbands usually, but for themselves.
In Italy, every March 8th, women are celebrated and mostly celebrate themselves. They wear yellow mimosa corsages or carry bouquets of the yellow mimosa, one of the first flowers in the spring. They wear yellow clothing, drink the yellow liqueur, limoncella, eat yellow food, deviled eggs, cake decorated with small dollops of yellow icing to symbolize yellow mimosa. Don’t you just love traditions and themes?
We wish all women who raise great women and men, teach our children, comfort us and our family when we are sick or in sorrow, who are our doctors and nurses, who check us out at the grocery or other stores, who get up before dawn to feed and dress kids for school, who hold your hand when you are a child crossing the street, who teaches us the essentials in life such as eating ice cream, dancing, readin’, writin’ and rithmotic’, riding a bike, driving a car, making sure you don’t wear stripes and plaids, and for all the many hundreds of things that women do.
Buona Festa della Donna, Monticello!