The earliest Mother's Day celebrations are traced back to the
spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother
of the Gods.
During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering
Sunday", celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday"
honored the mothers of England. During this time many of the
England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs
were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the
houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would
have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the
day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake,
was often brought along to provide a festive touch.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to
honor the "Mother Church" -- the spiritual power that gave them life
and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended
with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their
mothers as well as the church.
In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by
Julia Ward Howe as a day dedicated to peace.
In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish
a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in
Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second
anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the
next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers,
businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national
Mother's Day. It was successful, by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated
in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day a national holiday
that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
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