Happy Mother’s Day
In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a measure that proclaimed the second Sunday in May to be Mother’s Day. This was the culmination of an aggressive, persistent letter writing campaign by Anna Jarvis who argued, among other things, that the national holidays of the times were too male oriented, that women were not represented fairly. When Wilson signed the measure, her goal to see the holiday on the calendar was realized.
Anna Jarvis had envisioned the holiday as a private day between mothers and their families or a day spent in church service. However, she quickly became disillusioned as businesses promoted the holiday through cards and flowers, commercializing this sacred day. Towards the end of her life, she urged people to stop buying cards and flowers in honor of this day. Ironically, she was so disgusted by the whole thing that by the end of her life in 1948, she had started another campaign. She wanted the holiday removed from the calendar.
Of course, she did not succeed, so I must say Happy Mother’s Day to all.
That’s so interesting. Despite the commercialism, I think Anna was successful. For most of us, it continues to be a day of family gatherings 🙂
Interesting tidbit of news. Good to know. Thank you. Yesterday I found it interesting that a lot of the people who visited my shop (in a theme park) wished me Happy Mother’s Day. It felt good. sd
Fascinating history. I don’t like all the commercialism either, but then my son sent me a gorgeous bouquet and my daughter and her family entertained us with an afternoon of great food/beer/games/gifts. I have to admit, I LOVE Mother’s Day. 🙂