A Look at Mother's Day

A look at Mother's Day

As I embarked on this article I stopped to wonder where the idea for Mothers day actually started. Everyone loves their mom but who set out to have a day made in their honor? While Mother's Day is celebrated in many places around the world we have three women here in the United States that we can attribute the legalizing of the day to. Julia Ward Howe, a social activist, intended the day to be a day where women united against the American Civil War. She campaigned for women to oppose the war and for women's rights. In 1873, 18 cities held a "Mothers Day for Peace". Julia's efforts were inspired by Anna M. Jarvis. Anna M. Jarvis had organized women during the Civil War to improve sanitation conditions and she worked to reconcile both sides of the war. When she passed in 1907, her daughter Ann Jarvis, took up her cause to create a nationally recognized day for Mothers.

After several years of letter writing and campaigning, in 1909 forty-five states observed Mothers day. People around the United States wore red and white carnations in honor of moms both living and deceased. In 1914 Woodrow Wilson made mothers day an official holiday. Sadly, Anna Jarvis died in 1948 regretting the way mothers day had become such a commercialized venture.

So this mothers day in honor of your mother and in honor of the women who started it all, try to think of a slightly less conventional way to honor and celebrate. Instead of buying a hallmark card and box of already made chocolates pick up your pen and write out a letter to your mom and thank her for all the things she's done for you. Another great way to give back and celebrate is to find out what causes your mother is involved in and offer to volunteer in some way with her.

To help inspire you I have collected some quotes that may remind you of your mother or someone who was special enough to you that you want to remember them on mother's day. Some of the quotes may seem a little unconventional but being unconventional is what makes some moms so special.

Thoughts for her children...

You are younger today than you ever will be again. Make use of it for the sake of tomorrow. -Anon.