Second Sunday in May
Of course we’ll celebrate our mothers on the second Sunday in May, which falls on May 10th this year, 2015.
Many of us will show our mothers how special they are on this day, by giving them cards and taking them out to lunch or dinner, or perhaps even a vacation! About 133 million Mother's Day cards are exchanged annually. After Christmas, it's the second most popular holiday for giving gifts.
For those of us whose mothers have departed, we’ll remember them with love and honor -- as Anna Jarvis did in the early 20th century, laying the foundation for Mother’s Day.
It really started in the 1850s, when a community organizer Ann Reeves Jarvis—Anna's mother— held Mother's Day work clubs to improve the lives of babies. The women activists also cared for wounded soldiers from both sides during the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
After the war, Ann Jarvis and other women organized Mother's Friendship Day picnics to foster peace in the United States. During these heady days of women nurturing a nation, Julia Ward Howe, the composer of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" issued a "Mother's Day Proclamation" in 1870, calling for women to lead the peace movement.
When Ann Reeve Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter Anna made it her mission to honor her mother by continuing Ann’s community work and to create a Mother’s Day to honor the mother in each family, just as she did her own.
On May 10, 1908, on invitation from Anna, families gathered in memorial in Ann Jarvis's hometown of Grafton, West Virginia. Spurred by Anna’s efforts, several states officially recognized Mother's Day, led by West Virginia in 1910. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.
In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association. She emphasized that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers of the world."
"For Jarvis it was a day where you'd go home to spend time with your mother and thank her for all that she did," said historian Katharine Antolini of West Virginia Wesleyan College. "It wasn't to celebrate all mothers. It was to celebrate the best mother you've ever known—your mother—as a son or a daughter."
The special day Anna Jarvis set aside for her mother, and for each person’s mother, is now celebrated in many countries around the world, and most commonly on the second Sunday in May.
Wishing all families a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday May 10, 2015.
Of course we’ll celebrate our mothers on the second Sunday in May, which falls on May 10th this year, 2015.
Many of us will show our mothers how special they are on this day, by giving them cards and taking them out to lunch or dinner, or perhaps even a vacation! About 133 million Mother's Day cards are exchanged annually. After Christmas, it's the second most popular holiday for giving gifts.
For those of us whose mothers have departed, we’ll remember them with love and honor -- as Anna Jarvis did in the early 20th century, laying the foundation for Mother’s Day.
It really started in the 1850s, when a community organizer Ann Reeves Jarvis—Anna's mother— held Mother's Day work clubs to improve the lives of babies. The women activists also cared for wounded soldiers from both sides during the U.S. Civil War from 1861 to 1865.
After the war, Ann Jarvis and other women organized Mother's Friendship Day picnics to foster peace in the United States. During these heady days of women nurturing a nation, Julia Ward Howe, the composer of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" issued a "Mother's Day Proclamation" in 1870, calling for women to lead the peace movement.
When Ann Reeve Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter Anna made it her mission to honor her mother by continuing Ann’s community work and to create a Mother’s Day to honor the mother in each family, just as she did her own.
On May 10, 1908, on invitation from Anna, families gathered in memorial in Ann Jarvis's hometown of Grafton, West Virginia. Spurred by Anna’s efforts, several states officially recognized Mother's Day, led by West Virginia in 1910. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation creating Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.
In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association. She emphasized that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers of the world."
"For Jarvis it was a day where you'd go home to spend time with your mother and thank her for all that she did," said historian Katharine Antolini of West Virginia Wesleyan College. "It wasn't to celebrate all mothers. It was to celebrate the best mother you've ever known—your mother—as a son or a daughter."
The special day Anna Jarvis set aside for her mother, and for each person’s mother, is now celebrated in many countries around the world, and most commonly on the second Sunday in May.
Wishing all families a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday May 10, 2015.
Create and Print your own Free Printable Mother's Day Cards at home.
Or send a free Mother's Day e-Card.
Or send a free Mother's Day e-Card.
No comments:
Post a Comment