The modern holiday of
Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a
memorial for her mother at St Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West
Virginia. St Andrew's Methodist Church now holds the International
Mother's Day Shrine.
Her campaign to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday in the United States
began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Ann Jarvis had
been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American
Civil War and created Mother's Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.
Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started and
to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is
"the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world".
In 1908, the U.S.
Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother's Day an official holiday,
joking that they would also have to proclaim a "Mother-in-law's Day". However,
owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all U.S. states observed the
holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local
holiday (the first being West Virginia, Jarvis' home state, in 1910). In 1914,
Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day, held on the
second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.
What’s your favorite Mother’s
Day memory?
How do you want your
children and/or grandchildren to remember you?
Have a blessed day!
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