Today's MOZEN: A Brief History of Mother's Day

Words and Photo by F LoBuono

Generally, I eschew (a fancy word for avoid) anything that I feel is over-commercialized or hyped. Valentine's Day immediately comes to mind. In an effort to aid flagging sales between Christmas and Easter, a Hallmark executive came up with the brilliant idea of turning an obscure Christian holiday (borrowed from the pagans) into a commercial juggernaut. So much for true love - of MONEY, maybe. And, that's the truth folks. Not one of my favorites.

Mother's Day has a similar history. The origin of the celebration of Motherhood can be traced to many cultures in ancient times who celebrated the Goddess and fertility. Eventually, it too was usurped by the Christians who in turn used the day for people to renew their faith in "Mother Church". The genesis of the modern day equivalent can be traced to the years just before the Civil War and Anne Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia. In the beginning, she conducted classes on mothering skills to poor women. Eventually, after the Civil War(1868), she created Mother's Friendship Day to promote reconciliation between the mothers of both Union and Confederate troops. Among others, the suffragette Julia Ward Howe advanced the cause of celebrating motherhood by calling for all mothers to unite to promote world peace and to honor that with a Mother's Peace Day.

But, perhaps, the person most responsible for today's version of Mother's Day is Anne Reeves Jarvis' daughter, Anna Jarvis. After her mother's death in 1905, Anna worked tirelessly to honor her mother's memory by creating a Mother's Day to formally ackowledge the sacrifice all mothers make on behalf of their children. In 1908, with the help of wealthy Philadelphia store owner, John Wanamaker, she organized the first "modern" celebration in a Methodist Church in West Virginia. Thousands of others celebrated at the same time at Wanamaker's retail store in Philadelphia. Anna Jarvis continued lobbying tirelessly for a National Holiday honoring mothers. Her persistence paid of when, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May to be designated as Mother's Day. It's been with us ever since.

Interestingly, by the time of her death in 1948, the never married, childless Anna Jarvis had completely distanced herself from the celebration of the day, sighting what she saw as over-commercialization of the original concept. In fact, she even actively lobbied to have it removed from the American calendar.

So, you see my point. However, still, there seems to be something about this day that I don't find in Valentine's Day. Whereas Valentine's Day seems very much about BUYING something to prove our love, Mother's Day seems to be more about EXPRESSING our love for our mothers and the sacrifices they have made for all of us. It's more about sharing and togetherness than it is an attempt to PROVE our love. It is much more organic. And, you don't have to BE a mother or still have one to feel it. A mother's true love is never lost. To me, this is what this day is all about. And, judging from the wonderful comments and photos that I've been reading and seeing on Facebook convinces me that I'm not the only one. :)

HAPPY MOTHER'S TO ALL - AND, I MEAN ALL!