Mother’s Day History

 

In the United States, Mother’s Day is observed on the second Sunday each May. It is recognized as a holiday to honor mothers.  Also, is typically observed by presenting cards, flowers, and gifts to the mothers and influential women in our lives.

 

The Origin of Mother’s Day

Celebrations honoring mothers date back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses.

Basically, forms of Mother’s Day are celebrated all over the world. But the American Mother’s Day holiday can be traced back to Anna Jarvis. Ms. Jarvis began her campaign to recognize the sacrifices of mothers for their families.  She began when her own mother died in 1905.

Jarvis wrote letters to newspapers and politicians urging them to recognize Mother’s Day as a national holiday. Subsequently, her dream was realized in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

Then Disappointment

Unfortunately, Anna Jarvis became completely disillusioned by the holiday. She didn’t like the way the greeting card and floral industries commercialized the day. Eventually, Jarvis began urging people to quit buying cards and flowers. She also campaigned to have the holiday dissolved. Surprisingly, she fought legal battles with her own money to stop the use of the name Mother’s Day. However, by then the tradition was unstoppable.

Ideas for Celebrating Mother’s Day

Today, as many as 113 million Mother’s Day cards are purchased each year.  Thuy, only Valentine’s Day and Christmas are more popular for the greeting card industry. In addition, almost $2 billion is spent on flowers for the holiday.

Many children give their mothers homemade cards and hand-picked wildflowers for Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis would have liked that.

Some other ideas to honor mom include:

• Serve your mother breakfast in bed
• Clean the house for her
• Spend time enjoying her favorite activities with her
• Make her favorite meal
• Read aloud to her
• Play games with her
• Let her enjoy a nap or quiet bubble bath
• Preserve the flowers you give your mom

Article by Beverly Hernandez

Source: (thoughtco.com)

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