“Either alone or in sharing, read childhood nursery favorites and feel the warmth of Mother Goose’s embrace.”
That’s the motto behind “Mother Goose Day”. Founded in 1987 by Gloria Delamar, today is celebrated all across the US in homes, schools, and even nursing homes.
But where did Mother Goose first originate from?
Well, no specific writer has ever been identified as the creator of Mother Goose. John Newberry is believed to have published English nursery rhymes entitled, “Mother Goose’s Melody” in the 1760s, but the earliest surviving edition is dated 1784. The name “Mother Goose” has been associated, in the English-speaking world, with children’s poetry ever since.
However, Mother Goose was not just an English tradition. Her rhymes and poems have been told to generations of Italian and French children, throughout the decades. Through our nation’s English heritage, Mother Goose was introduced to America just as we achieved our independence, and has since remained a large part of the American tradition.
Here’s a rhyme from Mother Goose’s collection about Old Mother Goose, herself:
Old Mother Goose,
When she wanted to wander,
Would ride through the air
On a very fine gander.
Jack’s mother came in,
And caught the goose soon,
And mounting its back,
Flew up to the moon.