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mother's day
The history behind Mother’s Day
BY TRESA ERICKSON
Early Christians held their own festival
to take place on June 2 and all mothers to
in honor of the Virgin Mary. When
take a stand against war. Howe had seen
Every year as the second Sunday in May
the English took up the celebration, they
the devastation the loss of life in the Civil
approaches, millions of people across the
expanded it to include all mothers and
War had had on mothers everywhere.
country turn their thoughts to Mom and
renamed it Mothering Sunday. On this day,
Although many embraced her idea of a
fi nd ways to let her know how much she
individuals attended services for the Virgin
day for peace, the celebration of Mother’s
means to them. Although it wasn’t always
Mary and then visited their own mothers,
Day as we know it today did not come
celebrated on the second Sunday in May,
bringing them fl owers, gift s and treats.
about until the early 20th century when
Mother’s Day has been around in some
Th e popularity of Mothering Sunday
Anna Jarvis introduced it.
form since ancient times.
had faded considerably by the start of
As a child, Anna Jarvis had heard her
Th e ancient Greeks and Romans held
the 19th century but re-emerged in the
mother pray for a day dedicated solely to
a festival each spring honoring maternal
1870s due to the eff orts of activist and
mothers, living and deceased, and honoring
goddesses like Rhea and Cybele. During
writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe thought
their contributions. When her mother
these celebrations, participants would put
there should be a day in honor of mothers
died in 1905, Jarvis recalled her mother’s
on parades, play games and participate in
in the United States. She introduced
wish and started campaigning for a
masquerades.
her idea in 1872, calling for the celebration
national holiday for mothers everywhere.
She wrote letters to many leaders in her
community and across the country and
spoke about the matter at many functions.
By 1911, Jarvis’ eff orts had paid off ,
with nearly every state in the country celebrating
the day. Just three years later on
May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
signed a bill into law, establishing the second
Sunday of every May Mother’s Day.
Today, Mother’s Day is celebrated
in various nations around the world.
Spouses and children all over take time
out to honor the mothers in their lives,
and for that, Anna Jarvis and her mother
would be thankful.
Courtesy Creators.com