The History(AKA Her-story)of Mother's Day
Celebrating motherhood is a historical tradition dating
back almost as far as mothers themselves. A number of
ancient cultures paid tribute to mothers as goddesses,
including the ancient Greeks, who celebrated Rhea, the
mother of all gods. The ancient Romans also honored
their mother goddess, Cybele, in a notoriously rowdy
springtime celebration and the Celtic Pagans marked the
coming of spring with a fertility celebration linking
their goddess Brigid together with the first milk of the
ewes.
During the 17th century, those living on the British isles
initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called
Mothering Sunday, which was held on the forth Sunday during the Lenten season. This
holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children, separated when working
class families had to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. On
Mothering Sunday, the child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit
with their parents. The holiday's popularity faded in the 19th century, only to be
reincarnated during World War II when U.S. servicemen reintroduced the sentimental
(and commercial) aspects of the celebration American counterpart.
In the United States, Mother's Day experienced a series of false starts before eventually
transitioning into the "Hallmark" holiday that we celebrate today. In 1858, Anna Reeves
Jarvis was the first woman to hold an official celebration of mothers, when in her home
state of West Virginia, she instituted Mothers' Work Day to raise awareness about local
sanitation issues. During the Civil War, she expanded the scope of Mothers' Work Day to
include sanitary conditions on both sides of the battlefield.
Meanwhile Julia Ward Howe, author of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," attempted to
institute a national celebration of mothers that honored women's inclinations toward
peace (rather than cleanliness). In 1872, she initiated and promoted a Mother's Day for
Peace, to be held on June 2, which was celebrated the following year by women in 18
cities across America. The holiday continued to be honored by Bostonian women for
another decade, but eventually phased out after Howe stopped underwriting the cost of
the celebrations.
Then in 1905, Anna Reeves Jarvis passed away and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took up
her mother's torch. Anna swore on her mother's gravesite that she would realize her
lifelong dream of creating a national day to honor mothers. In 1907, Anna launched her
campaign by handing out white carnations to congregants at her mother's church in
Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, her mother's church acquiesced to Anna's request to hold
a special Sunday service in honor of mothers - a tradition that spread the very next year to
churches in 46 states. In 1909, Anna left her job and dedicated herself to a full-time letter-
writing campaign, imploring politicians, clergymen and civic leaders to institute a
national day for mothers.
In 1912, Jarvis' efforts met with success: Her home state of West Virginia adopted an
official Mother's Day; two years later, the U.S. Congress passed a Joint Resolution,
signed by President Wilson, establishing a national Mother's Day emphasizing the role of
women in their families - and not, like Julia Ward Howe's campaign, in the public arena.
Ever since, Mother's Day has been celebrated by Americans on the second Sunday in
May.
Perhaps the country's greatest proponent of motherhood, Anna Jarvis ironically never had
children of her own. Yet that didn't stop her from making the celebration of Mother's Day
her lifelong mission. In fact, as the holiday took on a life of its own, Jarvis expressed
frequent dismay over its growing commercialization. "I wanted it to be a day of
sentiment, not profit," she is quoted as saying.
