Mother's Day

Mother's Day, observed on the second Sunday of May in the United States, honors mothers and celebrates motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. The modern American holiday was championed by activist Anna Jarvis, who began campaigning for an official observance after her own mother's death in 1905, drawing on her mother's earlier efforts organizing women's groups for public health and reconciliation after the Civil War. Jarvis held the first official Mother's Day observance in 1908 at a church in Grafton, West Virginia, and after years of lobbying, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation in 1914 officially establishing Mother's Day as a national holiday. Ironically, Jarvis grew increasingly disillusioned with the holiday's rapid commercialization by the floral, greeting card, and confectionery industries, and she spent much of her later life, and her family fortune, unsuccessfully campaigning against what she saw as the holiday's corruption from a heartfelt sentiment into a commercial obligation. Earlier precedents for honoring mothers existed in ancient Greek and Roman spring festivals honoring maternal goddesses, as well as the British "Mothering Sunday" tradition, though the American holiday developed independently. Today, Mother's Day is typically marked with cards, gifts, flowers, and family gatherings, often centered around brunch or dinner.