Green Trails Estates May 2018

Mother’s Day...May 13, 2018
Mother’s Day History and Fun Facts
Did you know that more phone calls are made on
Mother’s Day than on any other day of the year?
In fact, phone traffic has been known to spike by
nearly 40% on this holiday honoring motherhood.
It’s a traditional holiday that is observed
throughout the world in different ways. In the
U.S., mothers are most typically presented with
flowers, cards and other gifts. (Though in 2016,
about 55% of consumers took Mom out.) But
since this is common knowledge, we wanted to
go one step further and learn why Mother’s Day
exists at all. Here’s what we learned.
The History of Mother’s Day in America
The American version of Mother’s Day was first
celebrated in 1908. It became an official holiday
just 6 years later in 1914. Anna Jarvis is credited
with creating the U.S. holiday and leading the
charge to have it officially added to the national
calendar. She first conceived of the idea after the
death of her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, in 1905.
The story goes like this:
• With financial backing from John Wanamaker
- owner of the famous department store chain
- she organized the first-ever celebration at a
Methodist Church in Grafton, WV in May 1908. She
wanted to recognize the sacrifices that mothers
make for their children.
• On that same day, thousands also attended a
Mother’s Day event at a Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia.
• Building on the success of that first Mother’s Day
event, Jarvis began a 6-year campaign to have it
added to the national calendar. She argued that
American holidays were biased towards male
achievements.
• By 1912 Mother’s Day had been widely adopted
at the state and local levels.
• In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a
measure officially establishing the 2 nd Sunday
in May as Mother’s Day.
• Jarvis’ vision for Mother’s Day was a day of personal
celebration. To her, the day involved wearing
a white carnation in honor of mothers and visiting
one’s mother or attending a church service.
• Florists, greeting card companies and other
retailers had other plans though and by 1920
Jarvis was fully disillusioned by what the holiday
had become, going so far as to openly campaign
against all Mother’s Day profiteers. She went on
to file lawsuits against groups using the term
“Mother’s Day” and spent most of her personal
wealth in legal fees.
• After pushing for 6 years to make the day official,
Jarvis eventually disowned the holiday
and actively lobbied to have it removed from
the American calendar. This effort of course was
unsuccessful
Early Mother’s Day Incarnations
While Anna Jarvis is credited with the official
creation of the holiday, her mother - Anna Reeves
Jarvis - is known for having founded “Mother’s
Day Work Clubs” back in the 1860’s. The goal of
these clubs was to teach local women how to
properly care for their children…a tradition that
is still in existence today with local Moms groups!
Another similar effort aimed at united and celebrating
mothers included Julia Ward Howe’s
“Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action
for mothers to unite in promoting world peace.
Howe later campaigned for a Mother’s Peace Day
to be recognized every June 2 nd . However, none
of these or other efforts in the 1800’s ever caught
on beyond the local level.
Traditional Mother’s Day Celebrations
The primary means of celebrating moms on
Mother’s Day in the U.S. continues to be with
flowers and other gifts. In fact, Anna Jarvis would
be supremely disappointed to learn that it has
become one of the biggest holidays for consumer
spending.
However, the holiday has also been used to
advance feminist causes. For example, in the
1970’s women’s groups were known to use the
attention generated by the holiday to create
awareness for the need for equal rights and
access to childcare.
In many other parts of the world, the timing of
Mother’s Day aligns more closely with the historical
observance of “Mothering Sunday.” Largely a
European tradition, Mothering Sunday fell on the
fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a
time when the faithful would return home to the
church. Over time, the observance of Mothering
Sunday faded and eventually merged with the
secular traditions associated with the American
Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day Fun Facts
• About 25% of all flowers purchased throughout
the year are for Mother’s Day
• Carnations are often associated with Mother’s
Day - they are said to be made from the tears’ of
Jesus’ mother Mary when she wept at his feet.
• Pink and red carnations mean that a person’s
mother is living, while white carnations are symbolic
of mothers who have passed away.
• Approximately $21 billion is spent on Mother’s
Day gifts and celebrations.
• In what was formerly Yugoslavia, children
would tie up their mothers on Mother’s Day.
The only way she could get free was to pay them
with treats.
• In Greek mythology, the maternal goddess Rhea
was honored during the spring festivals.
No matter how you observe this holiday, there is
no doubt that our mothers have a great influence
on our lives - not just on Mother’s Day but every
day of the year.
Source - Corsica Technologies
Happy
Mother’s
Day
32
May 2018 | Green Trails III / Green Trails Estates