Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring mothers, created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and made a national holiday in 1914.
🌷 How Mother’s Day Started
The modern U.S. holiday began with Anna Jarvis, who organized the first official Mother’s Day service on May 10, 1908, at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Her mother, Ann Jarvis, had spent years organizing women’s groups to improve health and sanitation and to support families during and after the Civil War. Anna wanted a day to honor her mother’s work and all mothers.
🕊️ Earlier Roots and Influences
Mother’s Day didn’t appear out of nowhere—several earlier movements helped shape it:
- Mothering Sunday in the U.K. and Europe, celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, where people returned to their “mother church” and honored their mothers.
- Julia Ward Howe’s “Mother’s Day for Peace” (1872), calling women to unite against war after the Civil War and Franco‑Prussian War.
- Ann Jarvis’s “Mothers’ Work Clubs” (1850s–1860s), which promoted sanitation, health, and reconciliation between Union and Confederate families.
These efforts laid the groundwork for the holiday we know today.
📞 A Fun Fact
A study found that more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year, causing U.S. phone traffic to spike by over 11%.