Mother’s Day: Millions of Americans celebrate ‘Mom’—however defined

May 08, 2016 by Leave a Comment

SUNDAY, MAY 8: Honor Mom today with a bouquet of flowers, a homemade card or just your time, as today marks the American version of Mother’s Day.

A 1908 church service in West Virginia gave birth to the holiday now known across the U.S. as Mother’s Day—a national holiday that, annually, grosses billions of dollars in flowers, gifts and cards and pays homage to the millions of mothers across the country. Though versions of the current American Mother’s Day predated its creation—and, worldwide, several variations have existed for centuries—today’s modern holiday holds no ties to a particular historical saint or figure, but, rather, just to Mom. The first “official” service took place at the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where a woman by the name of Anna Jarvis honored her own mother. After exhaustive campaigning by Jarvis, President Woodrow Wilson set aside the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, by 1914.

It may seem ironic that the primary advocate of the first Mother’s Day—Anna Jarvis—soon regretted having petitioned so persistently for the holiday, as the commercialism that rapidly followed its ascent was a stark contrast to the small-scale, personalized holiday that had originally been envisioned. Nonetheless, experts attest that had it not been for the early commercialization of Mother’s Day, it—like other smaller holidays of its time—would likely have fizzled out.

Did you know? Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church of Grafton, built in 1873, became the site of an International Mother’s Day Shrine in the 1960s. In 1992, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

During the 1850s, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia held Mother’s Day work clubs to improve sanitation conditions, lower rates of infant mortality, fight disease and contamination and assist other mothers. When the Civil War broke out, women in these clubs looked after wounded soldiers. Upon the death of Ann Reeves Jarvis in 1905, her daughter, Anna Jarvis, was prompted to organize a tribute service for her at her church. Jarvis distributed hundreds of carnations—her mother’s favorite flower—to mothers at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, in Grafton.

NEWS: HALLMARK FOCUSES ON THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

Hallmark is releasing cards for Mother’s Day 2016 geared toward the “new normal” of family structures, reports USA Today. This year, card messages focus not only on traditional moms, but also on stay-at-home dads, divorced parents and same-sex couples. According to a Hallmark representative, “Now you see a huge range of situations represented … We are really trying to represent a diverse range of relationships that represent current society.”

 

Mother’s Day Centennial: Celebrating Mom for 100 years

May 11, 2014 by 1 Comment

SUNDAY, MAY 11: There’s no one in the world quite like Mom, so honor her the way Anna Jarvis intended, on this centennial anniversary of Mother’s Day.

Although humans have been celebrating motherhood for millennia, the modern American version of Mother’s Day—the one we all know today—began in 1908 with Anna Jarvis. Determined to bring awareness to the vital role of each mother in her family, Jarvis began campaigning for a “Mother’s Day,” and finally was successful in reaching the whole country in 1914. Jarvis’s concept differed considerably from corporate interests in the holiday, however, and the over-commercialization of Mother’s Day was irritating to Jarvis as early as the 1920s. This year, in honor of the Mother’s Day centennial, honor Mom the way Jarvis intended: with a hand-written letter, a visit, a homemade gift or a meal, cooked from scratch.

After all, Mom’s worth it, right?

Care to read a wonderfully inspiring column about these relationships? Author Debra Darvick’s headline—to mark this centennial—is, “The best words: ‘I had a mother who read to me …’“

Want even more? Click here to visit ReadTheSpirit magazine’s front page, where you’ll find a dozen more stories about Mother’s Day, Moms and their families.

CHURCH, CARNATIONS AND
THE BEGINNINGS OF MOTHER’S DAY

American observances honoring mothers began popping up in the 1870s and 1880s, but Jarvis’s campaigns were the first to make it beyond the local level. The first “official” Mother’s Day service was actually a memorial ceremony, held at Jarvis’s church, in 1908; the 500 carnations given out at that first celebration have given way to the widespread custom of distributing carnations to mothers on this day. (Wikipedia has details.) For Anna, the floral choice was easy: Carnations were her mother’s favorite flowers.

President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation in 1914, sending the holiday coast to coast.

Despite Jarvis’s best efforts, the commercialization of Mother’s Day was inevitable. Mother’s Day is now one of the most financially successful holidays on the American calendar—mainly because it is the most popular day of the year to eat out and to make phone calls. Each year, Americans spend $2.6 billion on flowers for Mother’s Day; $1.53 billion on gifts; and $68 million on greeting cards.

JUST FOR MOM:
BRUNCH RECIPES,
GIFT IDEAS
DIY INSPIRATIONS

It seems that brunch is to Mother’s Day like cookies and milk are to Santa, and we’ve got plenty of ideas to get you started! Here are just a few, plus gift and craft ideas to boot:

(Originally published at readthespirit.com, an on line magazine covering religion, spirituality, values and interfaith and cross-cultural issues.)