MOTHER’S DAY

Everyone has one or has someone who is like a mother to them.  On the second Sunday of May, we honor those women who are our mothers. Whether we shower her with gifts, take her to a fancy dinner or make her a homemade card, what moms want most is to be surrounded by the love of their family.  Knowing the people they love are safe, sound and healthy is a mom’s number one priority.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Remember to put mom first on Mother’s Day and use #MothersDay to share on social media.

HISTORY

Mother’s Day has been celebrated around the world since, well, since motherhood. In the United States, Julia Ward Howe inspired the first movement toward a national Mother’s Day during the Civil War. Appealing to the public for a “Mother’s Day for Peace” after witnessing the devastation left by war, Howe went on an international crusade. While her efforts never gained formal recognition for an official observance, she was acknowledged posthumously in 1988 for her achievements and her efforts for women’s rights.

It was in 1905 when Mother’s Day was finally introduced successfully by Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis who had followed Howe’s campaign and had pursued her own volunteer efforts during the Civil War. Her mother died May 9, 1905, and she missed her greatly. She started a dedicated letter-writing campaign to declare an official Mother’s Day. Through Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, the first Mother’s Day was observed on May 10, 1908.

This day, to honor Anna Jarvis’s mother, grew into a National Observance until in 1911 when every state participated. Soon it was spreading internationally, and on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May.