Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday usually occurs in March in the UK and at other times internationally, where families get together and celebrate mothers of their family. In particular, it remembers maternal bonds and is a time of joy. But have you ever wondered how it all started?
The first Mother’s Day took place in 1908 in the U.S by a lady called Anna Jarvis who arranged to have a memorial, in honour of her mother at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in West Virginia, which still has an international Mother’s Day Shrine.
Anna Jarvis started her campaign to make Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1905, following her mother’s death. She was a peace activist, who looked after wounded soldiers during the American Civil War. As a way of honouring her mother, she started up Work Clubs for Mothers where they discussed topics such as public health concerns and dedicated a day to honour mothers as she felt that a mother was “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.”
At first this proposal of making Mother’s Day a public holiday was turned down in 1908 but Anna persisted and in 1911 West Virginia had their first Mother’s Day and in 1914 Woodrow Wilson honoured mothers by making it a national public holiday.
Thus, Mother’s Day soon spread internationally and the first Mother’s Day cards were on sale in the 1920’s.
To this day Mother’s Day is a day where families get together to show love and appreciation for the Mothers of the family.
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By Pamela Sommers
Pamela is a London special occasion jewellery specialist and founder of SommerSparkle, an award-winning online boutique creating fairytale events with their beautiful jewellery & accessories.
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