Mother’s Day: Expanding Our Definition of Motherhood
In 1907, West Virginian Anna Jarvis celebrated the first modern-day mother’s day, holding a memorial for her own parent. She had been advocating for a public holiday commemorating mothers for much of her life, a crusade that Anna Jarvis would continue until it became a federally recognized holiday several years later.
Today, we’ve expanded the definition of motherhood. No longer relegated to the sphere of the feminine, and much more than the stay-at-home figure we blithely celebrate one day a year, mothers can span a spectrum of caring role models.
They are our coworkers, political leaders, friends, and loved ones. In queer ballroom culture, mothers were older members of the scene that took in younger gay men and trans women into their house for guidance and support. Following that example of kinship beyond the familial, we can ask ourselves where else we might find examples of maternal love outside the nuclear family.
Who’s there for you? Who has your back? Of course, that person may very well be our own biological mothers. Our network of care and love can also extend to those who fulfill other niches in our lives. The friends we confide in, the spouses we share memories with, or even the neighbor that looks out for your packages.
In the end, as social creatures, we’re enveloped by a bubble of affection. From informal connections we make every day to more formalized mutual aid networks, people take care of people.
This Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating the essence of motherhood. To those who look after you, and are pillars of strength and fortitude.
Love Language: Gift Giving
When you give someone our candles as a gift, you’re sharing a memory. Whether it’s a fragrance that makes you recall a past recollection or a connection that eventually leads to a new experience, candles are a way to tell a story and encapsulate the memories we have of one another.
We created our candles to do just that—creating fragrances that evoke an emotion in connection to the stories of past heroines and figures. We often think of storytelling in terms of the words we hear and the visuals we see. Our candles tell stories through scent.
What stories do you want to tell the mothers in your life? A few Nomad Noé candles come to mind here:
You can travel to Brazil, with fresh bergamot, neroli, and orange slices, following the rebel heroine that disguised herself as a man so she could fight for her country’s independence.
Perhaps you want to explore the seas, like the Malian emperor who abdicated his throne at the wealthy kingdom’s height, all to explore the world and fulfill a life of self-discovery. Patchouli, vanilla, and tonka beans carry you on this journey.
Or maybe you and your mother—biological or otherwise—want to get back in touch with Mother Nature herself, with wild rose bushes, tangerine, and musk.
When past stories come to life, we can create new ones. Through the magic of scent and space, we heighten our everyday experience into something greater. We hope you get to share these new memories with every “mother” in your life this May.
