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The hidden history of Mother's Day: Take back the day!
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With Mother's Day happening this Sunday, May 10, people are scrambling to find cards and make reservations for brunch. But one thing that is getting lost is the original meaning behind the day. One group, Take Back the Day, is working to remind people of the original purpose of Mother's Day.
Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis was the inspiration for a day focusing on mothers. She had eleven children, including eight who died young. In 1858, when she was 26, she organized women into Mothers Day Work Clubs to work on health and sanitation issues in her county. During the Civil War, she insisted that these Mothers Day Work Clubs remain neutral, and they nursed soldiers from both sides of the war. In 1868, once the war had ended, she organized the first Mothers Friendship Day to help families and friends come back together after being torn apart by the devastating war. Mothers Friendship Day was celebrated several more times in years to come.
In 1870, inspired by these celebrations, Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist and suffragist, created a Mothers' Day Proclamation (see an excerpt below), encouraging women around the world to work against war. She tried to have a Mothers' Day for Peace day recognized on June 2, as she felt mothers had a special imperative and ability to stop the killing of their sons. The day did not catch on.
In May 1905, Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis passed away. Her daughter Anna, worked to commemorate the Mothers Friendship Day that her mother had tried to create. On the second Sunday of May, 1908, the third anniversary of her mother's death, Anna organized a memorial in honor of all mothers. 15,000 people attended the Philadelphia church to celebrate.
By 1909, 45 states, plus Canada and Mexico, were celebrating Mothers' Day, and by 1914, it was declared a national holiday. However, in the process of creating the national holiday, a crucial thing happened- the apostrophe was moved. Instead of Mothers' Day, honoring how powerful mothers can be by coming together to bring about change, it became Mother's Day, a day to honor individual women for being mothers. For Anna, this did not represent the true meaning of the day and was heartbreaking for her.
Today, Mother's Day is big business. Last year, about $3 billion was spent on flowers alone, according to Forbes Magazine. In terms of spending, the holiday ranks as third biggest behind only Christmas and Valentine's Day. Experts predict that the average amount spent this year on the holiday will be $123.89 per person, which is, amazingly, a drop of 11% over last year!
In response to the commercialization of Mother's Day, Inter Pares, a Canadian organization committed to promoting peace and justice, has developed the "Take Back the Day" campaign. They are asking people to celebrate this Mothers Day by doing something to promote peace and justice throughout the world. To learn more about this campaign, visit www.TakeBacktheDay.ca .
Here is an excerpt of the 1870 Mothers' Day Proclamation from Julia Ward Howe:
Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace. ...
Watch the Take Back the Day promotional video:
More articles on Mother's Day:
Mother's Day trivia and fun facts
Mother's Day keepsakes gift guide for the sentimental mom
Mother's Day gifts for TwilightMoms
Mother's Day poems that are great with personalized gifts
Mother's Day crafts for kids: 10 ideas from the internet
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