Mother's Day and It's Origins

So, Mother’s Day was not just invented by marketers to get people to buy things and help the economy. It evolved from a true purpose of honoring women. It goes all the way back to Greek and Roman days when they celebrated and honored goddesses on certain days of the year. And other countries and populations always found ways to celebrate mothers. Julia Ward Howe, the woman who wrote the Battle Hymn of the Republic suggested it in 1872. Julia was an activist, writer, and poet. Her idea was a Mother’s Day celebration of Peace in June. She wanted women to work together against the war in a famous “Mother’s Day Proclamation” written in Boston in 1870. She held a celebration in June of Mothers for years, but it was later replaced by the Mother’s Day as we now know it. She focused on a Mother’s Peace Day, which I think would be a great idea to continue. That and a Mother Earth Day – different than our Earth Day as we now celebrate it.

Anna Jarvis is probably seen as the mother of Mother’s Day as we now celebrate it. She got the idea from her own mother, Mrs. Anna Marie Reeves. Mrs. Reeves was an activist and a social worker who believed that all mothers, living and dead, should be honored, along with their contributions to society. Mrs. Reeves died in 1905 and her daughter, a single woman with no children, went on to promote this dream of her mother’s. Through letter writing and lobbying and other supporters, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state by 1911 and on May 6, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a joint resolution declaring the 2nd Sunday of May as Mother’s Day.

We owe a lot to our Mothers. Even in the article, they commented that there appeared to be a lack of respect for Mothers and women.
But women provide a balance to the world and I can understand why Julia Ward Howe wanted the idea of a Mother’s Peace Day. Women tend to have the more nurturing side, involving getting along, cooperation, being nice – all those things our mothers taught us about getting along with our friends. How to get along with people tends to be huge when we are young. It is one thing we teach in schools, preschools, churches, and at work. It starts with Mom at home. How do you do with your siblings or your early playmates? How do you learn to give and take? What about conflict management? He took your toy – now what can you do? There are many answers to that question, and sometimes the solution came from “Mom”. What else do we get from Moms? Hopefully a lot of wonderful things. I know there are many women who are not really up to the job – I work as a counselor so I see a lot. So how about looking back and finding the good things – perhaps she did the best she could. When were the times she thought of you first? When did you have a special time together at the park or zoo? Was she there for you in “wonderful” adolescence?
In honoring our mothers, we are also getting to look at ourselves and our role as a son or daughter. Are we doing all we can to value people in our family and our friends? You know, sometimes a “Mom” is someone who always acted as Mom in our lives and to whom we are very close – someone who made us feel nurtured and warm and fuzzy. Someone who made us feel “special.” That is a Mom! They come in all shapes, styles, sizes, and with all kinds of attitudes. And if you are a Mom, be the kind of Mom you would have liked!