.gif)
Mother's Day (United States)
Encyclopedia
In the United States, Mother's Day is an annual holiday
celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mother
s, motherhood and maternal bond
s in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society.
Although many Mother's Day celebrations world-wide
have quite different origins and traditions, most have now been influenced by the American traditions, including churchgoing
, the distribution of carnations, and family dinners.
. There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s but none achieved resonance beyond the local level.
In 1868 Ann Jarvis
created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day" whose purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War", and she wanted to expand it into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. Her daughter Anna Jarvis would continue her mother's efforts.
In New York City, Julia Ward Howe
led a "Mother's Day" anti-war observance on June 2, 1872, which was accompanied by a Mother's Day Proclamation
. The observance continued in Boston for about 10 years under Howe's personal sponsorship, then died out.
Several years later a Mother's Day observance on May 13, 1877 was held in Albion, Michigan
over a dispute related to the temperance movement
. According to local legend, Albion pioneer Juliet Calhoun Blakeley stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daughterty who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance advocates to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk. From the pulpit Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley's two sons, both traveling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers.
Frank E. Hering
, President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles
, made the first known public plea for "a national day to honor our mothers" in 1904.
, with the help of Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker
following the death of her mother Ann Jarvis on May 9, 1905. A small service was held on May 12, 1907 in the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia
where Anna's mother had been teaching Sunday school
. But the first "official" service was on May 10, 1908 in the same church, accompanied by a larger ceremony in the Wanamaker Auditorium in the Wanamaker's
store on Philadelphia. The next year the day was reported to be widely celebrated in New York.
Jarvis then campaigned to establish Mother's Day first as a U.S. national holiday and then later as an international holiday. The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of states followed quickly. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson
issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
In 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
approved a stamp commemorating the holiday.
In May 2008 the U.S. House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day, the first one being unanimous (with 21 members not voting).
The Grafton's church, where the first celebration was held, is now the International Mother's Day Shrine
and is a National Historic Landmark
.
(1832–1905), to improve sanitation and health in the area. These clubs also assisted both Union and Confederate encampments controlling a typhoid outbreak. They further conducted a "Mothers' Friendship Day" to reconcile families divided by the Civil War.
However, Mother's Day is now one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions, having become the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States and generating a significant portion of the U.S. jewelry industry's annual revenue, from custom gifts like mother's ring
s. Americans spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts—like spa treatments—and another $68 million on greeting cards.
Commercialization has ensured that the holiday has continued, when other holidays from the same time, like Children's Day
and Temperance Sunday, do not now have the same level of popularity.
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
s, motherhood and maternal bond
Maternal bond
The maternal bond is typically the relationship between a mother and her child.While it typically occurs due to pregnancy and childbirth, it may also occur between a woman and an unrelated child, such as in adoption...
s in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society.
Although many Mother's Day celebrations world-wide
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, yet most commonly in March, April, or May...
have quite different origins and traditions, most have now been influenced by the American traditions, including churchgoing
Church service
In Christianity, a church service is a term used to describe a formalized period of communal worship, often but not exclusively occurring on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism. The church service is the gathering together of Christians to be...
, the distribution of carnations, and family dinners.
First attempts to establish a holiday
The first attempts to establish a "Mother's Day" in the U.S. were mostly marked by women's peace groups. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s but none achieved resonance beyond the local level.
In 1868 Ann Jarvis
Ann Jarvis
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis was a social activist and organizer during and after the American Civil War...
created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day" whose purpose was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War", and she wanted to expand it into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. Her daughter Anna Jarvis would continue her mother's efforts.
In New York City, Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...
led a "Mother's Day" anti-war observance on June 2, 1872, which was accompanied by a Mother's Day Proclamation
Mother's Day Proclamation
The "Mother's Day Proclamation" by Julia Ward Howe was one of the early calls to celebrate Mother's Day in the United States. Written in 1870, Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation was a pacifist reaction to the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War...
. The observance continued in Boston for about 10 years under Howe's personal sponsorship, then died out.
Several years later a Mother's Day observance on May 13, 1877 was held in Albion, Michigan
Albion, Michigan
Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The population was 9,144 at the 2000 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area...
over a dispute related to the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. According to local legend, Albion pioneer Juliet Calhoun Blakeley stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daughterty who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance advocates to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk. From the pulpit Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley's two sons, both traveling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers.
Frank E. Hering
Frank E. Hering
Frank Earl Hering was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, an baseball. He served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1896 to 1898, compiling a record of 12–6–1...
, President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles
Fraternal Order of Eagles International is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898, in Seattle, Washington by a group of six theater owners including John Cort , brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry Leavitt , Mose Goldsmith and Arthur Williams...
, made the first known public plea for "a national day to honor our mothers" in 1904.
Holiday establishment
In its present form, Mother's Day was established by Anna Marie JarvisAnna Jarvis
Anna Marie Jarvis is the founder of the Mother's Day holiday in the United States.-Biography:...
, with the help of Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker was a United States merchant, religious leader, civic and political figure, considered by some to be the father of modern advertising and a "pioneer in marketing." Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Biography:He was born on July 11, 1838.He opened his first store in...
following the death of her mother Ann Jarvis on May 9, 1905. A small service was held on May 12, 1907 in the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia
Grafton, West Virginia
Grafton is a city in, and county seat of, Taylor County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 5,489 at the 2000 census. The only two national cemeteries in West Virginia are located in Grafton. Mother's Day was founded in Grafton on May 10, 1908; the city is the home to the International Mother's...
where Anna's mother had been teaching Sunday school
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
. But the first "official" service was on May 10, 1908 in the same church, accompanied by a larger ceremony in the Wanamaker Auditorium in the Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
store on Philadelphia. The next year the day was reported to be widely celebrated in New York.
Jarvis then campaigned to establish Mother's Day first as a U.S. national holiday and then later as an international holiday. The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of states followed quickly. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
In 1934, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
approved a stamp commemorating the holiday.
In May 2008 the U.S. House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day, the first one being unanimous (with 21 members not voting).
The Grafton's church, where the first celebration was held, is now the International Mother's Day Shrine
International Mother's Day Shrine
Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, the "mother church" of Mother's Day, was incorporated as the International Mother's Day Shrine on May 15, 1962, as a tribute to all mothers....
and is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Carnations
Carnations have come to represent Mother's Day, since Anna Jarvis delivered 500 of them at its first celebration in 1908. Many religious services held later adopted the custom of giving away carnations. This also started the custom of wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. The founder, Anna Jarvis, chose the carnation because it was the favorite flower of her mother. In part due to the shortage of white carnations, and in part due to the efforts to expand the sales of more types of flowers in Mother's Day, the florists promoted wearing a red carnation if your mother was living, or a white one if she was dead; this was tirelessly promoted until it made its way into the popular observations at churches.Related events
In the United States "Mother's Day Work Clubs" were organized by Anna Jeeve's mother, Ann Maria Reeves JarvisAnn Jarvis
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis was a social activist and organizer during and after the American Civil War...
(1832–1905), to improve sanitation and health in the area. These clubs also assisted both Union and Confederate encampments controlling a typhoid outbreak. They further conducted a "Mothers' Friendship Day" to reconcile families divided by the Civil War.
Commercialization
Commercialization of the U.S. holiday began very early, and only nine years after the first official Mother's Day had became so rampant that Mother's Day founder Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become, spending all her inheritance and the rest of her life fighting what she saw as an abuse of the celebration. She decried the practice of purchasing greeting cards, which she saw as a sign of being too lazy to write a personal letter. She was arrested in 1948 for disturbing the peace while protesting against the commercialization of Mother's Day, and she finally said that she "...wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."However, Mother's Day is now one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions, having become the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States and generating a significant portion of the U.S. jewelry industry's annual revenue, from custom gifts like mother's ring
Mother's ring
A mother's ring is a type of memorial jewelry. It has a birthstone for each of the children of a woman, either living or dead. They can represent a mother or grandmother's family, can include birthstones for other family members, and can be given upon the birth of a new child or...
s. Americans spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts—like spa treatments—and another $68 million on greeting cards.
Commercialization has ensured that the holiday has continued, when other holidays from the same time, like Children's Day
Children's Day
"Children Day", as an event, is celebrated on various days in many places around the world, in particular to honor children. Major global variants include a Universal Children's Day on November 20, by United Nations recommendation...
and Temperance Sunday, do not now have the same level of popularity.