Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring motherhood, and it is celebrated in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Anna Jarvis hailed from West Virginia, and her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, was her inspiration for creating the holiday. Ann Reeves Jarvis was a community health advocate who formed clubs known as “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to help local women learn how to properly care for their children. After her mother’s death in 1905, Anna sought a way of honoring her mother’s efforts. She conceived Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. Anna wanted it to be an intimate day of celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. The original date selected by Anna was the second Sunday in May because that was close to her own mother’s death anniversary. It has remained so ever since (for U.S.A). By virtue of much lobbying, she finally convinced President Woodrow Wilson to set aside the second Sunday in May as a national holiday – Mother’s day, which she did in 1914. However, over time as commercialization increased around this special day with businesses profiting through sales of cards, gifts and flowers, Anna became disillusioned with what the commemoration had become. She spent much effort later trying to remove the holiday from the national calendar but failed. The average sum a person is expected to spend will be a little over $250. It is expected the total, (for USA), children and grandchildren will spend about $33 billion, ($33,000,000,000.oo), on Mom and Grandma this year. Mother’s Day continues to this day to be one of the major holidays in America where people still continue with tradition such as presenting flowers and other tokens of love to their mothers. In other parts of the world too like UK and parts of Europe ‘Mothering Sunday’ is celebrated which has religious roots associated with it but eventually has also become synonymous with honoring mothers. It’s usually celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. But the essence remains the same across all countries – a special day dedicated to acknowledge the efforts and contributions of mothers. Artie Fischal Post Views: 122
