W-Women Globally

Mother’s Day is near and we took a while to look back at history of its celebration. How did it started? When? Why?

We’ve found the traditions for celebrating the form of Mother’s Day as far as in the ancient Rome and Greece.  Also in some countries, such as Japan, China, Iran, Nepal as well as UK, the tradition lies deep in the country’s specific traditions and history.

But the story of the ‘contemporary’ Mother’s Day, widely celebrated in the majority of countries worldwide, began with a woman from West Virginia in USA – Anna Jarvis, born in 1864.

We do not know a lot about Anna’s personality except from the fact that she was the ninth of 11 children of Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis and her husband, Granville Jarvis. She received her basic education in the public schools of Grafton and attended Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia.

Her mother, despite her obligations as a wife and mother, was also involved in the activities of the local church as well as local social life creating the so-called Mother’s Day Work Clubs uniting women in the near cities in order to ‘combat poor health and sanitation conditions that existed in those time in their neighbourhood and attributed to the high mortality rate of children. The clubs were highly successful and their role in tackling the local community problem was honored by all. ‘

During the civil war, Mother’sDay Work Clubs were involved in the nursing care to both parts of the conflict. After the war, ‘she continued her work to help heal the wounds of the war  and bring families and communities together again’.

Ann Maree Reeves Jarvis passed away on May 9, 1905. Two years later, in 1907, on the second Sunday in May, Anna invited friends to her home in Philadelphia, to celebrate the memory of her mother’s life. On this occasion, she announced her idea – a day of national celebration in honor of mothers – a Mother’s Day – the day her own mother inspired her to establish. “I hope that someone, sometime will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it.”

She launched a campaign to make “Mother’s Day” a nationally recognized holiday. She began locally, writing to the Superintendent of Andrews Methodist Church Sunday School in Grafton, West Virginia, where she suggested that the church in which her mother had contributed as a teacher for twenty years, celebrate a Mother’s Day in her honor. The Superintendent, Mr. Loar approved the idea and on May 10, 1908, the first official Mother’s Day service was held in the church. The church is now known as the  International Mother’s Day Shrine. It has been designated a national historic Landmark and it is there the 100 anniversary of the Mother’s Day have been held in 2008.

As we read at their website:  

It was Anna Jarvis who coined the term, “Mother’s Day Association”, used during the period she was developing her concept of what Mother’s Day should be. Subsequently, West Virginia Gov. William E. Glasscock issued the first Mother’s Day proclamation on April 26, 1910. In 1912, at the General methodist Conference in Minneapolis, MN, Anna was recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day. A joint resolution in the United States Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. The official resolution was approved by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914.

During her life she literally focused her efforts to de-commercialize the idea of the Mother’s Day. She saw in it the abuse of the celebration itself. As we read in her wikipedia.org biography:

By the 1920s, Anna Jarvis had become soured on the commercialization of the holiday. She incorporated herself as the Mother’s Day International Association, claimed copyright on the second Sunday of May, and was once arrested for disturbing the peace. She and her sister Ellsinore spent their family inheritance campaigning against the holiday. Both died in poverty. Jarvis, according to  New York Times , became embittered because too many people sent their mothers a printed greeting card. As she said, “A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment!”

 As we know, the Mother’s Day is celebrated worldwide, however different countries applied the tradition in the different way and at the different dates, check those under this link.

Sources:

http://www.mothersdayshrine.com/index.php

wikipedia.org

http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/