Kylie Schmidt, Freshman
Mother’s Day is a day where we celebrate everything our mothers do for us. The first Mother’s day was founded and celebrated in 1908. It was founded by Anna Jarvis, and it became a official holiday in 1914. The celebration of Mother’s Day dates back to ancient Greek and Roman times. They held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Cybele and Rhea. Along with the Greeks and Romans, the Christians also held a festival called “Mothering Sunday.” Throughout the years the Mothering Sunday custom faded to getting mothers flowers and gifts to show their appreciation. In the United States, Mother’s Day goes back to before the Civil War. In West Virginia, Ann Reeves Jarvis, started “Mother’s Day Work Clubs.” She made these clubs to teach women how to care for their children. After the Civil War these clubs were an important part of the North and South making amends. In 1870, Julie
Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation. The proclamation promoted world peace. The daughter of Anna Reeves Jarvis, Anna Jarvis had thought of the idea for Mother’s Day to be a day of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.
In May of 1908, Anna Jarvis held her first official Mother’s Day celebration. After Mother’s Day became an official holiday it wasn’t long before many flower, chocolate, and gift companies capitalized on the holiday. Anna Jarvis became infuriated. She made it known that she did not like the companies capitalizing on the newly founded holiday. Anna Jarvis started a campaign about how people should stop profitizing off of the holiday. In 1948, she disowned the holiday before passing away. She wanted the government to take it off the calendar and no longer have it as a national holiday.
Additionally, Mother’s Day would at times be used for feminists reasons. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife, Coretta Scott King used Mother’s Day to march to support underprivileged women in 1968. Now, there are many different traditions for Mother’s Day. For example, in Thailand Mother’s Day is celebrated in August, on the current queen of Thailand’s birthday. In the 1970s, many women’s groups used Mother’s Day to feature the demand for equal rights and better/more access to childcare. Mother’s Day is a perfect opportunity to thank the Mother’s/mother figures in your life for all the things they do for you. Have a fantastic Mother’s Day and be sure to hug your mom!
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