Mother's Day 

For centuries, some forms of Mother's Day have been celebrated in different parts of the world.

It did not start in the U.S. until the end of the Civil War.

In 1868, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who lived in West Virginia, started the first "Mothers' Friendship Day" by inviting the mothers of former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Ms. Jarvis was helped when Julia Ward Howe wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation" in 1870. She called for the mothers to organize and promote world peace. 

Ann Reeves Jarvis died in 1905. Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, took over for her mother's idea. 

In 1908, Anna Jarvis convinced Philadelphia store owner John Wanamaker to financially support her efforts. In May 1908, she held the first official Mother's Day observance at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. On the same day, Mr. Wanamaker held an event at one of his retail stores in Philadelphia, which thousands of people attended.

Anna Jarvis then started a substantial letter-writing campaign to make Mother's Day the national calendar.

She wanted it to be a special day to honor motherhood, as she contended the other holidays honored male achievements. In 1912, she established the Mother's Day International Association. 

President Woodrow Wilson (in 1914) signed a document officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. 

By 1920, Anna Jarvis decried the commercialization of Mother's Day. She saw it as a day for families to be with their mothers. She did not like flowers, cards, and candy taking over. She disowned the national holiday. She never married or had children. She died in 1948.

My mom was Dorothy Stinson. She was born in 1915. She married Bob Stinson, and they had three children. She lived to see her six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

We still think of her today. She loved us, taught us, and prayed for us. A little bit of her lives on in each of us. 

I hope you spend a happy day with your mother or have good memories of her on Mother's Day.