The History of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday", celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England. During this time, many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the "mothering cake", was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Anna Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day.

In 1907 Anna Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. The first Mother's Day was celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May in 1908 (the second anniversary of Anna's mothers' death) in Grafton, West Virginia and it opened with a telegram from Anna Jarvis that defined the purpose of the day: "Mother's Day is to remind us of our duty before it is too late. It is to revive the dormant filial love and gratitude we owe to those who gave us birth. To obliterate family estrangement. To make us better children by getting us closer to the hearts of our good mothers. To have them know we appreciate them, though we do not show it as often as we ought."

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful and by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Mother's Day is observed in many countries around the world. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, just as in the United States. England, China, India, Sweden, and Mexico honor mothers on the fourth Sunday in Lent. And the Slavic countries tie their Mother's Day celebrations to the Christmas season, honoring mothers at the beginning of Advent.