A selection of handmade Mother's Day gifts.

Mother's Day holiday, in the United States, celebrates motherhood generally and the positive contributions of mothers to society. It falls on the second Sunday of each May. It is the result of a campaign by Anna Marie Jarvis (1864–1948), who, following the death of her mother on May 9, 1905, devoted her life to establishing Mother's Day as a national, and later an international, holiday. This article is about several worldwide days celebrating motherhood. ... Vacation redirects here. ... A. Jarvis was the name of two women, mother and daughter. ...

Precursors to the American Mother's Day

Precedents for the currently observed "Mother's Day" include:

• "Mothering Sunday" in the UK and Ireland is on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It was originally a time when Catholics were supposed to travel to attend Mass in their "Mother Church" (the regional cathedral) rather than in their local parish. By the Reformation, it had changed into an occasion for children to visit parents. An 1854 source mentions a couplet: "On 'Mothering Sunday,' above all other/Every child should dine with its mother."^[1]

• "Mother's Day Work Clubs" organized by Anna Jarvis's mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis (1832-1905), to improve sanitation and health in the area. These clubs also assisted both Union and Confederate encampments controlling a typhoid outbreak, and conducted a "Mothers' Friendship Day" to reconcile families divided by the Civil War.

• The "Mother's Day" anti-war observances founded by Julia Ward Howe in 1872^[2]

Both are sometimes claimed as the "founder of Mother's Day," implying that Julia Ward Howe's June 2nd occasion and Anna Jarvis' second-Sunday-in-May event are one in the same. It is even suggested that an anti-war and feminist holiday was co-opted by the forces of sentimentality, tradition, and Hallmark Cards.^[3] But although Mother's Day was celebrated in eighteen cities in 1873, it did not take root. It continued in Boston for about ten years under Howe's personal financial sponsorship, then died out.^[4] The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... A. Jarvis was the name of two women, mother and daughter. ... Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day, celebrated on June 2nd, was first proclaimed around 1870 by Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation, and Howe called for it to be observed each year nationally in 1872. As originally envisioned, Howe's "Mother's Day" was a call for pacifism and disarmament by women. See Mother's Day Proclamation. 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Pacifist redirects here. ... Disarmament means the act of reducing or depriving arms i. ... The Mothers Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe was one of the early calls to celebrate Mothers Day in the United States. ...

Early "Mother's Day" was mostly marked by women's peace groups. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

The first known observance of Mother's Day in the U.S. occurred in Albion, Michigan, on May 13, 1877,^[5] the second Sunday of the month. According to local legend, Albion pioneer, Juliet Calhoun Blakeley, stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daughterty, who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance advocates to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk. In the pulpit, Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley's two sons, both travelling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers. Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. ... is the 133rd day of the year (134th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1877 (MDCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... A cartoon from Australia ca. ... The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784. ...

On February 4, 1904, South Bend, Indiana resident Frank E. Hering made the first Public Plea and started his own campaign for a national observance of "Mother's Day" in Indianapolis, Indiana. is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the city in Indiana, US. For other uses of the name South Bend, see South Bend (disambiguation). ... Indianapolis redirects here. ...

Jarvis's Mother's Day

In 1907, Mother's Day was first celebrated in a small, private way by Anna Marie Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, to commemorate the anniversary of her mother's death two years earlier on May 9, 1905. Jarvis's mother, named Anna Maria Reeves Jarvis, had been active in Mother's Day campaigns for peace and worker's safety and health since end of American Civil War. The younger Jarvis launched a quest to get wider recognition of Mother's Day. The celebration organized by Jarvis on May 10, 1908 involved 407 children with their mothers at the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton (this church is now the Mother's Day Shrine]). Grafton is, thus, the place recognized as the birthplace of Mother's Day. Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A. Jarvis was the name of two women, mother and daughter. ... Grafton is a city located in Taylor County, West Virginia. ... is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... A. Jarvis was the name of two women, mother and daughter. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... is the 130th day of the year (131st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

The subsequent campaign to recognize Mother's Day was financed by clothing merchant John Wanamaker. As the custom of Mother's Day spread, the emphasis shifted from the pacifism and reform movements to a general appreciation of mothers. The first official recognition of the holiday was by West Virginia in 1910. A proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day was signed by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson on May 14, 1914 John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838 – December 12, 1922) was a United States businessman, civic and political figure, considered the father of modern advertising. ... Official language(s) none (de facto English) Demonym West Virginian Capital Charleston Largest city Charleston Largest metro area Charleston metro area Area  Ranked 41st in the US  - Total 24,230 sq mi (62,755 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 240 miles (385 km)  - % water 0. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856—February 3, 1924), was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. ... is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

Controversy

In May 2008, most of the Republican representatives in Congress voted against a resolution memorializing Mother's Day, after voting for it, in an apparently mistaken procedural motion.^[6] GOP redirects here. ...

Current dates

The second Sunday of May will fall on the following dates in the next few years:

• 2008 - May 11
• 2009 - May 10
• 2010 - May 9
• 2011 - May 8
• 2012 - May 13
• 2013 - May 12
• 2014 - May 11

References

External links

• "Battling The Mother's Day Monster", Ottawa Citizen, May 11, 2008