History of Mothers Day

Mothers day is most commonly celebrated on the second Sunday of May. The ancient Greeks were among the first to pay tribute to mom through their Spring Festival that honored Rhea the mother of all Greek gods. The modern Mother’s Day is linked back to the early Christian festival known as Mothering Sunday. During the 1600 s in England the fourth Sunday of Lent (which was two Sundays before Easter Sunday) became known as Mothering Sunday. On this day Christians honored Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. They would do this by decorating churches with flowers as well as jewels and soon thereafter the Mothering Sunday celebrations started to include the celebration of actual mothers as well not just Mary. During this day maids as well as servants were permitted to go and travel to their mothers and families. They would eat lots of food and give small presents to their mothers in celebration. Many times the most popular treat during Mothering Sunday was a cake. This cake was called a seminal cake they was filled with spices and fruits.

North American Mother’s Day was created by Anna Marie Jarvis. Anna admired her mother who attended to the wounded during America’s Civil War and later became a community activist. When young Anna was 12 it is believed she heard her mother pray that one day there might be a Memorial Day for Mother’s for all the good that they do. Young Anna never forgot the prayer and when her mom died in May of 1905 the plan for a holiday was born. On the second anniversary of her mom’s

death Anna held a church memorial dedicated to her mother’s good deeds. In May of 1908 Anna held another memorial and handed out white carnations her mom’s favorite flower. She contacted Philadelphia philanthropist John Wanamaker who joined a Mother’s Day committee in hopes of honoring all mothers all across the nation . In 1910 West Virginia became the first state to observe the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. After a fierce letter-writing campaign Anna got Congress to federally recognized the holiday and in 1914 President Wilson signed a bill that officially made the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day.

By 1920 Jarvis wasn’t too happy about how commercialized Mother’s Day had been. She really conceived it about celebrating mothers going to church and really making the mother feel special and celebrated And not necessarily going and purchasing things for them. As mother’s day became more and more popular of course more flowers cards and candy were sold and so that became very attractive to retailers. By the time of her death in 1948 she had really disowned the holiday she was not happy with how it had become and the commercialization of it. She actually sued numerous people for using the term Mother’s Day.

Anna Jarvis who many considered the mother of Mother’s Day never had any children of her own. After she died in 1948 at the age of 84 she was buried next to her mother in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

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