Happy Mother’s Day: Who Initiated Mother’s Day Celebration?

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers in SSF and around the world! Did you treat your mother today? Or even remember them with a prayer if they’re gone. Mother’s are busy bees always on a 365/24/7 duty, always servicing and sacrificing for their kids and family. Mothers are overwhelmed and overworked sometimes they forget to take a break and enjoy life.

A reminder to mothers to do self care to have fun and do something for yourself. On plane or ships, folks with kids are reminded to put on the oxygen mask or the lifesaving vest on themselves first during emergencies so they can save the children.

May is the month honoring a Mother, Mary Queen of Angels. Catholics have novenas and events ‘Flores de Mayo’ where little girls in white offer flowers to Mary; also Santacruzan where lovely young ladies dressed up as queens representing their place to compete for the title Reyna Elena or Helena, the queen of flowers, all these events to honor a Mother named Mary, mother to Jesus.

I’m still learning new things. I’ve always thought it was a mother who conceived a Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis was a single ,unmarried lady and never had kids in her entire life was the one who thought of setting a special day for mothers.

After her mother’s death in 1905, Anna Jarvis thought of a way to honor mothers sacrifices for their families. In May 1908, she got help from John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia store owner , to organise the first Mother’s Day event at a Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Thousands attended the event. The success led her to relentless campaigning by writing letters to newspapers and politicians to set a special day for mothers. She opined that male achievements are aggrandised while women’s work are overlooked.

To help promote her mission, Jarvis established the Mother’s Day International Association.

Finally her energetic activism took off; in 1914 , President Woodrow Wilson signed an official order to establish Mother’s Day every second Sunday in May.

Later she regretted about Mother’s Day when she saw the day was exploited with too much commercialism and political fundraisings.

I think it’s good deed Anna Jarvis initiated the idea of Mother’s Day because mothers are indeed special and wonderful, hence they need to be honoured and celebrated.