Thoughts on Mother’s Day

Like many special days, national holidays, and periods of celebration, Mother’s Day has an interesting history. The movement to establish a day to recognize and celebrate the impact and influence of mothers in the United States began in the late 19^th century as a result of the work of two women: Ann Reeves Jarvis and Julia Ward Howe (History.com, 2019). Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis, organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration in May 1908 at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia (History.com, 2019). A few years later, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in the United States of America (History.com, 2019). In his Mother’s Day Proclamation of 1914, President Wilson stated, “Now, therefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said…