Happy Mother’s Day 2023!

This Sunday, May 14th, is Mother’s Day in the United States of America.

The modern holiday of Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia.

St Andrew’s is now known for housing the International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Jarvis’ campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, died. Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War, and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. Anna Jarvis wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started, and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.”

In 1908, the United States Congress rejected a proposal to make Mother’s Day an official holiday, joking that they would also have to proclaim a “Mother-in-law’s Day.”  However, owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all 50 states observed the holiday, with some of them officially recognizing Mother’s Day as a local holiday; the first being West Virginia, Jarvis’ home state, in 1910. In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers.

In 1912 Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrase “Second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, Founder”, and created the Mother’s Day International Association.

She specifically noted that “Mother’s” should “be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.”

The Green Bay News Network Salutes all Mothers – and hopes that each of you  have a wonderful and happy Mother’s Day Weekend!

Need Flowers for Mom? Get Them at Schroeder’s Flowers!