Mother’s Day is this weekend, which means it’s time to honor the person who gave you life.
Although the holiday was officially recognized in the U.S. in 1914, its roots trace back nearly 45 years prior. It took generations of women activists to shape Mother’s Day into what it is today.
How did Mother’s Day originate, and why is it always observed on a Sunday? Here’s a breakdown.
The idea of Mother’s Day in the U.S. began with Julia Ward Howe, the author of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and an abolitionist, a women’s rights advocate and a peace activist. In the aftermath of the Civil War and during the Franco-Prussian War overseas, Howe issued an “appeal to womanhood throughout the world” in 1870.
In what is known today as the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” Howe “urged the creation of an international body of women who could find ways to avoid war and bloodshed,” according to the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
“I earnestly ask that a general congress of women, without limit of nationality, may be appointed… to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace,” Howe’s proclamation says in part.
Howe’s vision didn’t quite come to life. She then aimed for an official Mother’s Day for Peace, though that also failed to popularize.
Modern Mother’s Day observances have stronger ties to the work of Ann Jarvis and her daughter, Anna Jarvis. Ann Jarvis had around 12 children but lost most of them to disease. This prompted her to join a national public health movement and organize “Mothers’ Work Clubs” for environmental and hygienic work.
The Civil War prompted Ann Jarvis to reorient the groups’ focus to aiding sick and wounded troops on both sides. After the war, she “worked to promote peace and unity,” Smithsonian reports. Ann arranged a “Mother’s Friendship Day” to restore communal relationships between families of Confederate and Union troops, despite threats of violence.
Ann’s daughter, Anna Jarvis, picked up the endeavor after Ann’s death. While Ann focused on peace activism, Anna pushed for a holiday honoring mothers. Anna also began the tradition of using white carnations to celebrate mothers. In 1908, she sent hundreds of flowers to her hometown church and did the same in Philadelphia, according to Montgomery Magazine. White carnations were her mother’s favorite flower.
