Engineers of History

The History Behind Mother’s Day

How it all started.

Mother’s Day is the time to appreciate everything that are Mom’s have done and sacrificed. On this day, we celebrate and honor all Moms, including our Mothers, Grandmothers, Wives, Sisters, and even our Cousins! Mother’s day is celebrated every year in America on the second Sunday of May. On Mother’s Day, we surprise our Moms with gifts and presents, such as fun jewelry and flowers.

There were three extraordinary woman that contributed to the creation of Mother’s Day. The names of these woman were Julia Ward Howe, Ann Reeves Jarvis, and Ann’s daughter, Anna M. Jarvis. The creation of Mother’s Day actually began as a movement to improve lives in America.

Ann Reeves Jarvis was born on September 30, 1832, in Culpeper VA. In 1858, she was an attribute to start a club that helped teach Mothers how to care for their children. Ann was a mother and she had lost eight of her twelve children which had to do with lack of sanitation.

Julia Ward How was born on May 27, 1819, in New York. She was an abolitionist and a writer. Julia wrote a Mother’s Day proclamation to ask for other Mothers to join her cause in promoting world peace. She campaigned to establish a Mother’s Day of Peace in 1873. She was greatly inspired by Ann Reeves Jarvis.

Anna M. Jarvis was born on May 1, 1864, in Webster, West Virginia. Anna was the daughter of Ann Jarvis, and once she joined the Mother’s Day campaign, it started getting a lot more attention.

After Ann Reeves Jarvis’s death in 1905, Anna had the idea to make a holiday that brings attention and honor to all the mothers that have passed away and acknowledge all the sacrifices that mothers make to give their children better lives.

The first official celebration of Mother’s Day was held on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia at a small local church. This turned out to be a huge success brought in a lot of attention and because of how great the first Mother’s Day was, Anna was going to make sure the Mother’s Day became a national holiday. She would write countless notes and letters to politicians and newspapers from all over the country. She asked for them to adopt the holiday to celebrate and honor motherhood. Eventually in 1912, forty-five states in America had noticed mother’s day and had decarded it a national holiday. However, it wasn’t until 1914, where 28th US president Woodrow Wilson finally announced the very first celebration of Mother’s Day as a official national holiday. It is celebrated today on every second Sunday of May.

https://www.proflowers.com/blog/history-of-mothers-day

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/mothers-day/g32129906/mothers-day-origin/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mothers-Day

https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/resources/commemorations/history-of-mothers-day/

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