Have you read The Da Vinci Code? If you have, then half my job is done. The Da Vinci Code is the story of people’s pursuit of the feminine aspect of divinity, to which justice wasn’t done by the male-dominated society. Dan Brown calls this suppressed aspect of divinity the sacred feminine.

Mother’s Day is approaching and I thought that a little bit of thinking would be in order while making up your mind about the most ideal gift for your mother on that day. History gives you one clear gift idea for Mother’s Day - a Mother and Child figurine.

Let me tell you why the gift item of a Mother and Child Figurine is most appropriate for Mother's Day.

All through human history, the feminine was considered powerful because of its creative and nurturing forces.

The worship of the Mother Goddess was a practice in early human civilizations. Statues featuring pregnant women and figurines featuring a mother and child were discovered by archaeologists studying ancient civilizations.

Excavations of the Neolithic civilizations which flourished in Sesklo in Greece and Çatalhöyük in Anatolia showed figurines featuring mother and child. Mind you, this was almost seven millennia Before Christ.

An ancient civilization flourished in the northwest part of India three millennia Before Christ. Folks there worshiped the Mother Goddess and there were images and sculptures of the Mother in her glory.

Archaeological studies show that in Mexico, two centuries Before Christ, the inhabitants of the region made figurines portraying mother and child.

In the Christian tradition too, the mother and child image is of great importance. Mary’s love and care for her son Jesus has inspired many pictures and sculptures.

It seems that the past was full of mother and child figurines. In other words, mother’s love has been a fascinating theme for human beings since time immemorial.

If you look at the Mother and Child figurines that are available in the market these days, you would see quite a range of cultural diversity. You find such figurines depicting African Americans, the Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania, Native Americans, and the Japanese.

The Mother and Child theme seems to be a great leveler of diverse human cultures!

There is a famous Spanish company called Lladro which produces fine porcelain figurines. One of their Mother’s Day gifts, a part of their Catholic collection, is a child in mother’s arms - a picture understood and liked by people all over the world.

If you are like the great Leonardo Da Vinci or the fictitious but admirable Robert Langdon (easier remembered as Tom Hanks in the movie adaptation), you would worship the sacred feminine. You would not have any second thoughts about what to gift your mother with on Mother’s Day - a lovely Mother and Child figurine!

Many of us find gift giving or rather gift buying a complex task. The same holds true when it comes to choosing that perfect wedding gift. To help, here are 10 gift giving tips:

1) Know thy newlyweds:

That's common sense, right? If they're an outdoorsy couple who like to like to surf, consider gifting them matching pairs of board shorts or maybe a waterproof camera. But chances are you'll know one newlywed a lot better than the other, so a little research into common interests will surely pay off.

2) A Pushing-the-Boundary-Gift:

If you pride yourself on being the reception rebel, you know, the person who gives the most embarrassing speech at the wedding. Perhaps you should stick to your non-conformist guns and get your newlywed friends something that might provoke them to explore new territory. If they're a conservative couple, get them a nice selection of hot massage oils. Suggest that they bust out the hot massage oil kit after the honeymoon's over.

3) Good Gadget Gifting:

The 21st Century has given us virtually unlimited choices in this department. How about giving them a color coordinated set of USB 2.0 Thumbdrives? Or perhaps a digital photo frame? Nowadays, everybody's inner geek has plenty of digital candy to feed on. But know that when you go for the gadgetry, it will become obsolete within a year or so.

4) The Gag Gift:

This one has the shortest functional shelf life of any gift, so make it funny. I liked "Big Mouth Billy Bass" as much as the next guy, but have you seen any at the mall lately? The problem is, so few gag gifts are actually funny. Good advice would be to avoid them entirely.

5) The Gift Registry:

Gift registries (also known as: Bridal Registries) have risen to prominence for exactly the reason I'm writing this list: to make shopping for wedding gifts less of a burden. The idea was first introduced by Chicago based Marshall Field's department store in 1924. Since then, it's an increasingly popular way to conveniently select a gift online and that the bride and groom have preselected. An advantage is that the registry makes sure the newlyweds don't get the same gift twice. But the drawback is it takes the surprise element out of gifting.

6) Fall Back on the Classics:

Nope, I'm not talking about the ubiquitous wedding toaster. But it might be worth rising above the gift giving trend-du-jour and get them classic traditional gifts that have stood the test of time. Perhaps a great set of flatware, or better yet, some Waterford Crystal. In the end, wedding gifts are geared towards the bride. Get her a nice set of stemware or a Waterford Crystal Martini pitcher, and you'll cross their mind every time they use it for a special occasion.