How Did Mother's Day Get Started?

Today is Mother's Day, but when did it begin? Well, as a matter of fact, Mother's Day history begins with a holiday that did not even celebrate mothers as such.

In medieval Europe, the fourth Sunday of Lent was a day set aside for people to honor the church where they were baptized, their “mother church,” by decorating it and making special offerings.

But in England, in the 17th century, a church decree designated that day as Mothering Day, and proclaimed that it would be a day to honor one's human mother. It was a popular holiday because families were allowed to feast on that day, despite it being in the middle of Lent. And at that feast, mothers were the guests of honor, who, in addition to visits from their children, got lots of gifts.

This decree, however, did not carry over to America, where Mothering Day never caught on. In the United States, it was not until Anna Marie Jarvis (1864-1948) came along that a nationally recognized Mother's Day came into being.

After her own mother died, Jarvis started a campaign in 1907 to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday. By 1912 she had persuaded the legislature of her native state, West Virginia, to officially recognize a Mother's Day, making it the first state to do so. And two years later, in 1914, she succeeded in convincing Congress and President Woodrow Wilson to do the same at the national level.

However, when she saw the quick commercialization of a day that she had envisioned as one of celebration and love, Jarvis did an about-face and began campaigning against Mother's Day. She and her sister Ellsinore spent their last dime in the fight and both died in poverty, and Anna never married and was never a mother herself.

As Wikipedia notes, "Jarvis became embittered because too many people sent their mothers a printed greeting card. As she said, 'A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother--and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment.'"

However, despite all her efforts to the contrary, since its inception in 1914, the history of Mother's Day has been a tale of inexorable expansion. By the time Jarvis died in 1948, more than 40 countries were observing Mother’s Day. Today there are more than 70, and the number just keeps going up.

Read also:

What Flowers Should I Get for Mother's Day