Mother'sDayisanimportantday.
Despitepopularbelief,Mother'sDayisnotjustaholidayinventedbyHallmark,butratheritisaholidaydatingbackseveralmillennia.
TheearliestknownMother’sDayoriginatedinAncientGreecehonoringRhea,motherofalldeities,inanannualspringfestival.TheRomanshonoredCybele,thesamemotherofalldeities,andcelebratedthisfestivalbycallingitthe“Hilaria.”EarlyChristianscontinuedthetraditionbycelebratingtheVirginMary,onthefourthSundayofLent.InEngland,thecelebrationeventuallyexpandedtoincludeallmothers.
Mother’sDaywasnotanofficialholidayintheUnitedStatesuntil1914.ModernAmericanscanthanktheperseveranceanddeterminationofawomannamedAnnaJarviswho,deeplydevotedtoherownmother,helpedtomakeMother’sDayanofficialU.S.holiday.
Jarvis’smother,AnnaMariaReevesJarvis,wasanactivistduringtheCivilWarandlost8ofher12childrenbeforetheyreachedadulthood.Whenshediedin1905,Anna(daughter)wasdistraughtandvowedtodevoteherlifetohonoringhermother.HerdevotionledhertostrivetoappointanofficialU.S.holidaytorecognizemothers.ThoughMother’sDayhadbeencelebratedinformallyformanyyears,Jarviswrotemanyimportantfigures(includingU.S.congressmenandprosperousbusinessmen),imploringthemtobackMother’sDayasanofficialholiday.
Anna’seffortsfinallypaidoff.In1910,thegovernorofWestVirginiadeclaredMother'sDayastateholidayonthesecondSundayinMay.Thefollowingyear,everyotherstatefollowedsuit.By1914,PresidentWoodrowWilsonsignedabilldeclaringMother’sDayaFederalHoliday.
Atfirst,celebrationsofMother'sDaywererelativelyprivate,wherechildrenwouldaccompanytheirmotherstothechurcheswheretheirbaptismswereheld.Graduallythough,Mother'sDayhasflourishedintoasignificantandmemorableoccasionwheremanypeopleexpresstheirlovefortheirmothersthroughthoughtfulgiftsandqualitytimewithfamily.