As I sat down to write this article, I wondered about the origin of Mother's Day. The concept of a "Mother's Day" dates back to the early Romans. When Europeans came to settle America it seems the European tradition that evolved from the early Romans was cast aside because of the difficult life the settlers encountered in the new world.
In 1870 Julia Ward Howe brought about the first North American Mother's Day. Howe had become so distraught by the death brought on by the Civil War, she called on all mothers to come together and protest the futility of their sons killing the sons of other mothers. Howe funded many of the celebrations that occurred on June 2 for 13 years or so but most of these celebrations died out when Howe stopped footing the bill.
Later, Anna Jarvis led a West Virginia women's group in trying to recreate Howe's celebration in an effort to reunite families and neighbors that had been divided by the Civil War. After Jarvis died, her daughter Anna petitioned the church her mother had taught at for 20 years to create an official mother's day. The request was granted, and the first "official" Mother's Day took place at Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton WV as well as at a church in Philadelphia PA on May 10, 1908. The younger Jarvis arranged for white carnations (her mother's favorite) to adorn every mother in attendance.
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Although a proposal to make Mother's Day a national holiday was defeated in 1908, by 1909 forty-six states were holding Mother's Day services. President Woodrow Wilson signed the decree in 1914 making the second Sunday in May Mother's Day.
It soon became apparent to the florist industry of the power of advertising flowers for Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis was terribly upset by the growing commercialism of the celebration. She tried to copyright "Mother's Day" but by 1938 the commercial trend of Mother's Day made that impossible.
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104 years later I wonder how Anna Jarvis would view Mother's Day. How many mothers would appreciate Anna's sentiment. Has Mother's Day gotten so commercialized, that, like Christmas, it is more important to receive the physical present, rather than celebrate the meaning of the day? I don't profess to know the answer to this question and I cannot speak for any mothers. As I father, I appreciate the time spent with my children far more on Father's Day (or Christmas or my birthday) than any present they could give me.
