It bends but does not break …

As I have traditionally done over the years I present these virtual sprigs of mimosa, a flower that defies the winds, to all the women in my life.

You have challenged me, annoyed me, comforted me, angered me, inspired me and rewarded me with your love and friendship.

Back in 2021 I wrote this brief history of March 8th – International Women’s Day: Strength and Resilience.

The word for March 8^th is:
Bend /bĕnd/: [^1. noun ^2. verb]
^1.1 A band passing from the upper dexter corner of an escutcheon to the lower sinister corner.
^1.2 A knot that joins a rope to a rope or another object.
^1.3 A part that is curved; a crook; a turn in a road, a river,or of a range of hills.
^2.1 To cause to assume a curved or angular shape.
^2.2 To make a concession; yield.
Middle English, from Old English bend, band, and from Old French bende, bande, band.

Bending Not Breaking

As I have on March 8^th in past years, today I am presenting a virtual sprig of Mimosa to the women in my life. I am presenting it not just in appreciation but with the firm belief that equality is the right of all.

This deceptively fragile flower bends in the strongest winds but does not break – for me the perfect symbol of the strength of the women that I know and cherish. Thank you for letting me into your life and for becoming an important part of mine.

The word for March 8th is:
Bend bĕnd: [verb]
1.1 to force an object from a straight form into a curved or angular one, or from a curved or angular form into some different form.
1.2 to direct or turn in a particular direction.
1.3 to modify or relax temporarily.
Old English bendan “to bring into a curved state; confine with a string, fetter,” causative of bindan “to bind,” from Proto-Germanic base band– “string, band” (source also of Old Norse benda “to join, strain, strive, bend”).

Like a Mimosa in the Wind

For more than a decade now I’ve offered a virtual sprig of mimosa to the women in my life on this day. And today I continue that tradition but with special thoughts for the women of the Ukraine and Eastern Europe in my commemoration of the strength and resilience of the women of the world. The feathery yellow puffs of the mimosa give the appearance of fragility but withstand the strongest winds and most violet of storms.

As I have said in the past I prefer the Italian name – which was originally proposed back in 1910 at the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen: The Day of the Woman (La Festa de la Donna). Today is not a celebration of a faceless collective but of individuals. An individual each with their own triumphs, achievements, attempts, and yes, failures. Individuals with their own loves, hates, fears, hopes, strengths and weaknesses. Each one unique in contributing to the world around them. It is also a time to celebrate the progress made but also to acknowledge how much more has yet to be done.

To the women in my own life: thank you for being part of my life and for allowing me to be a part of yours. As always I wish that I could present you each with a sprig of this lovely flower however I trust this virtual offering will tell you how much you mean to me.

Strength and Resilience: A bit of the history of today’s commemoration.

The word for March 8^th is:
Resilience /rəˈzilyəns/: [noun]
^1.1 The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
^1.2 The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.
1620s,:”act of rebounding or springing back,” often of immaterial things, from Latin resiliens, “to rebound, recoil.” In physical sciences, the meaning “elasticity, power of returning to original shape after compression, etc.” is by 1824.

Strength and Resilience

On March 8^th 1857 a strike by garment workers in New York City led to the formation of the first women’s union in North American. Fifty-one years later, on March 8^th 1908 more than 15,000 women marched in New York City for shorter work hours, better pay, the right to vote, and an end to child labour. Their slogan of “Bread and Roses” (economic security and better living) was to find echo nine years later when on March 8 (February 23 on the Old Russian Calendar), in the midst of the First World War, Russian women led a strike calling for “Bread and Peace” – demonstrations that signalled the beginning of the February Revolution. March 8^th: three seminal events in the fight for the rights of women.

In 1910 at the Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen, activist and women’s rights advocate Clara Zetkin asked the women representing unions, socialist parties and working women’s clubs from 17 countries to pass a motion for an International Working Women’s Day. They did so, unanimously, and the so International Women’s Day was born. No fixed date was set for the Day and initially it was observed on a range of dates, chiefly in socialist and left-leaning countries. Perhaps influenced by those events of 1857, 1908 and 1917 the date of March 8^th has became more and more common in countries that observed Women’s Day.

In 1945 the Union of Italian Women declared that March 8^th, should be set aside to celebrate women across the country. The following year Italian politician Teresa Mattei chose the mimosa as the symbol of the Festa. That wisp of yellow that shudders in the slightest breeze but is able to withstand a hurricane. In it she saw a symbol of the strength and resilience of women. In Italy it became the custom to give the women in your life a sprig of mimosa to honour and respect that strength and resilience.

I only wish that I could personally show my respect and love for the women who have enriched (and at times frustrated, puzzled, and angered me – all part of that enrichment?) with a sprig of that beautiful and sturdy little flower. However as in years past this virtual spray of mimosa will have to suffice to carry the message of my love, admiration, and thanks to each one of you. And with it the wish that all women will be truly equal.

The word for March 8^th is:
Equality /iˈkwɒl.ə.ti/: [noun]
The quality of different groups of people having a similar social position and receive the same treatment as those around them.
Late Middle English: from Latin aequalis, from aequus ‘even, level, equal’. +ity (degree, quality) Middle French -ité, from Latin -itat-, -itas, from -i- (stem vowel of adjectives) + -tat-, -tas -ity; akin to Greek -tēt-, -tēs.

Women of the Day

Since our first year in Italy back in 2009 I’ve celebrated La festa della donna by presenting the women in my life with the traditional sprig of mimosa. A beautiful, soft, almost wispy flower it blossoms this time of year on trees throughout the countryside. And though it appears to be a fragile floweret as it sways in the wind, it is sturdy and may bend but seldom breaks. It has an inner strength that few other trees possess. It seems the perfect flower to celebrate the beauty and the strength of the women in my life.

My wish is that I could present each one with a living sprig of this lovely bloom. But once again this year a virtual blossom will have to suffice as my thank you for being so important a part of my life and including me and mine in yours.

Last year I wrote about the origins of International Women’s Day and the choice of the mimosa as a flower worthy of the day: La festa della donna

The word for March 8th is:
Blossom /ˈbläsəm/: [noun/verb]
n. A flower or a mass of flowers, especially on a tree or bush.
The state or period of flowering.
v. To produce flowers or masses of flowers.
To mature or develop in a promising or healthy way (as a friendship).
Old English blōstm, blōstma (noun), blōstmian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bloesem.