Just as we know eventually, spring will arrive; we know that the second Sunday in May is Mother’s Day in America. You might wonder how this day got started except by the card, candy, and flower companies. It started with humbler and less commercial origins.
Julia Ward Howe sponsored Mother’s Day around 1870 to encourage women to embrace pacifism and disarmament. The holiday didn’t take hold until 1907.
Anna Jarvis wanted to improve health conditions in Grafton, West Virginia, where she lived. She celebrated the life of her mother by organizing a private celebration. This celebration of her mother launched “Mother’s Day Work Clubs in the effort for health issues to be more widely recognized. President Wilson signed a law on May 8, 1914 “designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day”.
In your life, you probably knew women who were maternal figures, either by choice or blood. You may have children of your own or were maternal figures to other people’s children. You may have had to learn how to be a mother to yourself and others. You might be male and have had to provide nurturing to your family or friends.
Just as Julia Ward Howe and Ann Jarvis wanted to bring awareness to social issues they thought were important at the time, we can bring our own unique lens to Mother’s Day. We can campaign for our own comfort and those of others we love.
How will you celebrate the “Moms” in your life, past or present?
Happy Mother’s Day