History of Mother's Day
Judy Rothermel
Mother’s Day is a very important day of the year. It’s a day that Mothers are appreciated by their children for all that they do. And honestly, they deserve a lot more than just one day of appreciation for everything they do. This year, Mother’s Day is May 9th.
In the early 1900s Anna Jarvis lost her mother, and she vowed to make her mother’s dream a reality. In 1876, Anna heard her mother, Ann say the following prayer, “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life.” On May 10th, 1908, Anna put together the first official Mother’s Day Celebration, with the help of retail store owner John Wanamaker, in Grafton, West Virginia. After this celebration was a success she wanted to see it observed in the national calendar. She began a letter-writing campaign to try to get Mother’s Day to be a national holiday. One of her main arguments was that American holidays are biased towards male achievements.
By 1912, Mother’s Day was celebrated annually by many towns and churches around the United States. Jarvis established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote the cause further. It wasn’t made to be an official holiday until 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure which officially made Mother’s Day the second Sunday in May.
After the holiday became official, it wasn’t long before it got commercialized. Florists, greeting card companies, and more companies were trying to make a profit off of this holiday Anna Jarvis created. Her vision for the holiday included visiting one’s mother or going to church services. By 1920, Jarvis was very displeased with the commercialization.
From then on, Anna went on to denounce the holiday. She tried to discourage people from buying cards, flowers, and candy for Mother’s Day celebrations. She spent the last 20+ years of her life trying to get Mother’s Day taken off of American Calendars.
History.com Editors. (2011, April 29). Mother's Day 2021. History.com. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day.
