Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day ~ How It Came About
In the United States, on the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day ~ How It Came About is our annual holiday celebrated by recognizing our mothers,
Including motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well the positive contributions that they make to society.
Woman’s peace groups were the first to start Mother’s Day. The groups were Mothers who sons had died in the American Civil War from both sides. These groups had their celebration of Mother’s Day during the 1870’ and the 1880’s. Unfortunately, none of these celebrations had any National support they were only observed at the local level.
“Mother’s Friendship Day” was started in 1868 by Ann Jarvis. This day was to unite families and friends divided over the war. Ann Jarvis died in 1905 before the celebration became popular and the gauntlet was carried on by her daughter Anna Jarvis. In New York. On June 2, 1872 there was a Mother’s Day anti-war rally led by Julia Ward Howe. The rally ended with a Mother’s Day Proclamation.
This anti-war rally continued for another 10 years in Boston and then died out. Then on May 13, 1877 in Albion, Michigan there was another Mother’s Day observance and the difference revolved around the temperance movement. “According to local legend, Albion pioneer Juliet Calhoun Blakeley stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daugherty who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance works to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk.
From the pulpit Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley’s two sons, both traveling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880’s, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers.”
The first public plea for a national day Americans could celebrate their Mothers made by Frank E. Hering who at the time was the President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The year was 1904. Anna Jarvis in 1905 began campaigning to set up a Mother’s Day first as a national holiday and then the rest of the world. In 1910 West Virginia officially declared Mother’s Day as a legal holiday.
Many State followed West Virginia’s lead and in 1914 on May 8th the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May to be known as Mother’s Day. The following day President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring everyone should fly the American flag in honor of these Mothers who sons had died in the war. In 1934 FDR approve a postal stamp commemorating Mother’s Day.
Remember your Mother today as she is the only person who all your life has thought you to be the most beautiful and perfect person in the world. Aren’t Mothers great! Mother’s Day ~ How It Came About Want to reprint this post? You may do so, if you include the following credit line: “Cliff Keith is a California real estate Broker, who has helped home buyers and sellers since 1976!”
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