The History of Mother’s Day

I love researching the stories behind our modern holidays. Who created it? Why? How did it become popular? Mother’s Day isn’t considered one of the “big” holidays, but it’s certainly an important one to all us mothers out there. And while it may have become a bit commercial over the years, at its heart, Mother’s Day was meant to give sincere tribute to the never-ending work of motherhood.

How It All Began

In the U.S., Mother’s Day has its roots in the Civil War period when a West Virginian named Ann Reeves Jarvis organized local Mother’s Day Work Clubs teaching mothers how to best care for their children. These clubs expanded to bring together families that had been divided during the war. Quite unrelated, a few years later, activist and women’s suffragist Julia Ward Howe began campaigning for a national Mother’s Day for Peace. Her vision was for a day where women around the world could come together to discuss methods of achieving world peace.

Following the death of Ann Reeves Jarvis, daughter Anna Jarvis hoped to honor her mother’s work with an annual day celebrating the sacrifices mothers make for their families. In 1908 she initiated the first official Mother’s Day ceremony at a church in West Virginia as well as a larger celebration at Wanamaker’s store in Philadelphia.

The success of these events popularized the carnation (which Anna had distributed during the church service) as a Mother’s Day flower and inspired Anna to pursue national exposure.

Ironically, the woman who came to be known as the “mother of Mother’s Day” was unmarried and childless. However, Anna embarked on a campaign to promote the holiday nationwide and saw success in 1914 when President Wilson declared Mother’s Day an official holiday (to be celebrated on the second Sunday in May).

While Anna had envisioned the day as an intimate one spent visiting mothers and attending church, merchants soon capitalized on the new holiday as a reason to sell cards, flowers and candy. Anna fought this commercialism to her death, even asking the American government to remove Mother’s Day from the calendar.

Celebrating Motherhood in Other Countries

Celebrations of motherhood reach back to ancient Greek and Roman festivals honoring female goddesses. The modern Mother’s Day is celebrated (on various dates) in 46 countries around the world including Canada, China, Belgium, India, Italy and Turkey.

One precursor of the holiday was “Mothering Sunday,” a Christian tradition during the season of Lent when people returned to their “mother church” (the main church in their area) for a special service. In the United Kingdom, this eventually transitioned into a day to honor all mothers with flowers and small gifts. Mothering Sunday is still celebrated today in England on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

In Thailand, people celebrate Mother’s Day in August on their queen’s birthday. Ethiopians honor motherhood as part of Antrosht, a fall festival of food and singing. Mother’s Day (or Hari Ibu) in Indonesia is celebrated December 22 in recognition of the day of the first Indonesian Women Congress.

Wherever and whenever you celebrate it, Happy Mother’s Day to you!

Want to learn the history behind other American holidays? Check out my eBook, The Guilt-Free Guide to Greening Your Holidays.

 

This post is shared at Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural blog hop.

 

 

 

Sources:
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day
http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/mothers-day-history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother’s_Day_(United_States)