The History of Mother’s Day

This Sunday is Mother's Day, and if for some reason you forget it, get ready for a mother-load of guilt. With every other commercial and advertisement reminding you, there's really no excuse. And it's been going on for quite some time now, this isn't a new holiday. The origins of Mother's day can be traced back hundreds of years.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring in ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. Springing forward to the 1600's, the early Christians in England celebrated a day to honor Mary, the Mother of Christ. The holiday was later expanded to encompass all mothers and named Mothering Sunday.

Fast forward to the United States in the1870's. Our version of Mother's Day was loosely inspired by the British Version and was campaigned by social activist Julia Ward Howe. She had been horrified by the carnage of the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War and tried to issue a manifesto for peace in 1870 at the international peace conferences in London and Paris. This would begin her one-woman peace crusade for the next ten years. She began promoting the idea of a "Mother's Day for Peace" to be celebrated each year on June 2nd honoring peace, motherhood and womanhood. It was also intended to unite women against war. She would later get her own stamp in 1988.

Another woman who was a big influence in the establishment of Mother's Day, was Anna Jarvis. She spent many years looking after her Mother, and never had any children of her own. She felt that children neglected to appreciate their Mothers enough while they were alive, so she started a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. As a result of her efforts the first Mother's Day was observed on May 10th, 1908.

So, with all that in mind, pick up the phone, send her a card, send her some flowers, or better yet just show up on her door step, that's probably what mom wants most of all.

www.theholidayspot.com/mothersday/history