The History of Mother's Day

Celebrated on the second Sunday of May, Mother's Day is a day to appreciate everything our mothers have done for us. The holiday has roots back well into the 1800s and has even evolved into an international celebration. Here is a brief history on how Mother's Day became an established holiday in the U.S.

* In 1872, Julia Ward Howe, a social activist for pacifism and women's suffrage, organized a day dedicated to mothers in order to rally women and mothers together for peace, especially after many had lost their sons in the Civil War less than a decade earlier. Howe held her Mother's Peace Day in Boston on the second Sunday in June and it was held annually several following years.

* On May 12, 1907, Anna Jarvis began campaigning to get a nationally recognized Mother's Day, which was inspired by her own mother, Ann Jarvis, who was an important social activist during the Civil War.

* On May 10, 1908, a church service honoring Jarvis' mother was held and the concept of celebrating other mothers spread across the country. Jarvis is considered the founder of Mother's Day and despite never having her own children, she continued to campaign to get mothers the recognition they deserved.

* In 1912 the Mother's Day International Association was established to promote the holiday and organize events.

* In May 1913, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that all federal officials acknowledge the still unofficial Mother's Day by wearing a white carnation. Jarvis had originally used carnations in her mother's memorial service because they were her mother's favorite flower and she believed they symbolized pure love.

* In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day a national holiday and chose the second Sunday of May as the holiday's official date, namely due to the fact the holiday's advocates had used this date to celebrate it on local and community levels and the fact that it was first considered a religious holiday.

* Since 1914, Mother's Day has been celebrated all across the U.S., with many families getting together to celebrate not only mothers, but also grandmothers, aunts, and other women in their family.

* Even though the first Mother's Day was meant to be a religious holiday, it quickly took off and became highly commercialized, with many people buying cards, flowers, and other gifts. It is also now one of the biggest restaurant holidays.