|
Happy Mother's Day
May 8, 2011
By Maisie Rodenbaugh
The History of Mother's Day
Contrary to popular belief, Mother’s Day was not conceived and fine-tuned in the boardroom of Hallmark.
In the United States, Mother’s Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it “Mother’s Work Day.”
Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist suffragist and author of the lyrics to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” organized encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else.
In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter continued on with her mother’s wishes which were “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day. There are many days for men, but none for women.
In 1908, her daughter, Anna handed out her mother’s favorite flower, a white carnation at her church. Five years later the House of Representatives adopted a resolution calling official of the federal government to wear white carnations on Mother’s Day. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914 signed a bill recognizing Mother’s Day as a national holiday.
Mother’s Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honor and to express appreciation of their mothers.
If we know a Gold Star Mother, let’s give her a special call because she has lost her son or daughter in a war. Happy Mother’s Day and remember that every day is Mother’s Day. Our Gold Star mothers are honored on the last Sunday in September. There are 993 members in their organization, Stepmothers and adoptive mothers are also eligible to join.
| |
