Mother's Day (United States)
| Mother's Day | |
|---|---|
Examples of handmade Mother's Day gifts
|
|
| Observed by | US |
| Type | Cultural, commercial |
| Observances | Church services, distribution of carnations, breakfasts in bed and family dinners |
| Date | Second Sunday in May |
| 2016 date | May 8 |
| 2017 date | May 14 |
| 2018 date | May 13 |
| 2019 date | May 12 |
| Frequency | annual |
| Related to | Father's Day, Parents' Day |
Mother's Day in the United States is an annual holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as the positive contributions that they make to society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first official Mother's Day was celebrated at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908.
Internationally there are a large variety of Mother's Day celebrations with different origins and traditions; but most have now also been influenced by this more recent American tradition.
During the 19th century, women's peace groups in the US tried to establish holidays and regular activities in favor of peace and against war. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War.
In 1868, Ann Jarvis, mother of Anna Jarvis, created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day", the purpose of which was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War." Jarvis – who had previously organized "Mother's Day Work Clubs" to improve sanitation and health for both Union and Confederate encampments undergoing a typhoid outbreak – wanted to expand this into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the celebration became popular. Her daughter, who became almost obsessed with her, would continue her mother's efforts.
There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s but none achieved resonance beyond the local level. At the time, Protestant schools in the United States already held many celebrations and observations such as Children's Day, Temperance Sunday, Roll Call Day, Decision Day, Missionary Day and others. In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day for Peace" anti-war observance on June 2, 1872, which was accompanied by a "Appeal to womanhood throughout the world" (nowadays known as Mother's Day Proclamation). The observance continued in Boston for about 10 years under Howe's personal sponsorship, then died out. In these celebrations, mothers all around the world would work towards world peace.
...
Wikipedia