Celebrate Mother's Day with OSV

Date: 5/3/2011

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) will celebrate Mother's Day on May 8 by offering free admission to all moms.

Mothers will also receive a free gift (while supplies last) and be entered into a raffle for one of three village-made redware cookie plates. In addition, the village has several events planned so that families can celebrate the day together with hands-on activities. Children can plant a seed or make a card for their mothers and play a game of "French and English" (tug of war) together. The Oliver Wight Tavern will also be offering a special Mother's Day brunch.

A favorite activity on Mother's Day and throughout the spring at OSV is meeting the new animals at the village farms. New lambs and piglets born during the spring consistently delight visitors of all ages. Four lambs have already been born and more are expected in early May. Six week-old piglets of the English Black breed are due to arrive at the village during the first weeks of May. Doc and Blue, the 1-year-old oxen, are also visitor favorites.

Early 19th-century rural life may have been very different than today, but the essential challenges and joys of motherhood haven't changed much through the years. Visitors can learn more about childbirth and raising children in the 1830s by meeting Lydia Maria Child, author of the best-selling book, "The Mother's Book," and 19th-century midwife Lucy Tucker.

Costumed OSV historians will provide insights into cooking and running a home in the 1800s. Visitors can learn about real-life early American mother Sally Towne while touring the Salem Towne House.

The Mother's Day holiday as we currently know it was not created until the 20th century when a Philadelphia woman named Anna Jarvis promoted its creation after her own mother passed away. Ironically, she spent much of her time and late mother's fortune trying to stop the commercialization of the holiday she had created.

At OSV, the original spirit of the day is preserved in a setting that celebrates the importance of family and community and the hard work required to raise a family — in any century.

OSV celebrates life in early New England from 1790 to 1840.

The village is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults; $18 for seniors; $7 for children ages 3 to 17; children younger than 3 are admitted free. Each admission includes free parking and a free second-day visit within 10 days.

For more information, visit www.osv.org or call (800) SEE-1830.