The History of Mother’s Day
In the 2019 year, Mother’s Day hits the calendar on Sunday, May 12. While over 40 countries celebrate this special day, honoring moms in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons, the root of modern Mother’s Day in the United States is actually quite sweet and simple.
According to Wikipedia, Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in West Virginia, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial to honor her mother, Ann Jarvis–a Civil War peace activist who died in 1905. Anna went on to trademark the holiday, and to promote and clarify her initial intent, which was for each family to honor its own mother and to celebrate the sentiment of a mother’s love.
Anna believed the 2nd Sunday in May should be a recognized holiday because a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone else in the world.” Anna promoted simple gifts like personal and handwritten notes of thanks to mothers. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation, celebrating the role of mothers in the U.S.
While this holiday does have elements of a commercial event, with stores hawking cards, flowers, and balloons, plus lots of knickknacks and clutter of which your mom (and Marie Kondo) would probably disapprove, you can still celebrate your mom simply.
Even if your own mom wasn’t literally a battlefield hero, she certainly works hard and helps keep the peace. In reality, she probably “has done more for you than anyone else in the world.” This year, honor Mom with a gift from the heart, a gift that she’ll really use: home cleaning services from Lily’s Cleaning Service. Tell her how much you appreciate her by giving the gift of time. Call Lilly’s at 301.990.4179 to purchase a gift card for your Mom.
