Some thank — or shake their fist at — Hallmark for “inventing” Mother’s Day. Turns out that’s not the case at all. (Now Grandparents Day? Sweetest Day? I haven’t researched, but I’d be less than surprised to find they had something to do with those.)
Indeed, it was Anna Jarvis, not the Hallmark company, who picked up and ran with the idea of Mother’s Day: a concept originally conceived a few years earlier by Julia Ward Howe (of “Battle Hymn of the Republic” fame) to honor mothers and celebrate world peace.
According to MothersDayCentral.com (paraphrased):
In 1908, Senator Elmer Burkett of Nebraska proposed making Mother’s Day a national holiday, at the request of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). The proposal was defeated, but by 1909, forty-six states were holding Mother’s Day services. Celebrations also took place in Canada and Mexico.
Anna Jarvis quit her job and devoted herself full time to the creation of Mother’s Day, endlessly petitioning state governments, business leaders, women’s groups, churches and other institutions for support. She finally convinced the World’s Sunday School Association — then a key influence over state legislators and Congress — to back her. In 1912, West Virginia became the first state to officially recognize Mother’s Day, and in 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
What a big to-do, eh? The best part about it, for me, is getting to see/talk to my children, their wives, and my grandchildren. I think any mom prefers that over just about any other gift.
So if you’re fortunate enough to have your mother still with you, give her a call. She’ll love you (even more, if that’s possible) for it. 
One note though is that Jarvis would later regret what she did when the day started to become over-commercialized to the point where she once got arrested for disturbing the peace while protesting the day. Just a slightly sad note.
Yeah, I read that…bummer, eh? It must have been difficult for her to watch her work essentially degrade into what she thought was meaningless commercialism. Sounds like she kind of went a little koo-koo towards the end.
Happy Mother’s day to you and every mom who reads this.
I will be calling my 83-yr-old mom later today. I listen and she talks. <3
Thank you, Suz! And I’m sure your phone call will be the absolute highlight of her week. Do you Skype her, or use your cell phone or what? Is there any “free” way to call the US from Klompenland?
I use Skype to call her on her regular phone. I wish she could also use Skype but she can barely handle using a regular telephone let alone trying to go through the copmuter.
It’s still pretty cheap!
Thanks so much, Bird, for the lovely Mother’s Day gift! You know I’ll be putting that to good use.
Hope you had a beautiful day and are enjoying the movie!! Let me know how you liked/disliked it!
Love you, sweetie!
Hey Mave, you’re welcome! We both liked the movie, and as you know, it’s tough to please the Thriller. If it’s not heads being ripped off or demons jumping from every corner, he’s bored.
Love you too — hope you got a great book!!