MotherÂ’s Day (Second Sunday in May)Origin: The result of a one-woman crusade launched in 1908 by Anna Jarvis, a West Virginia schoolteacher whose mother had died three years earlier. On May 10, 1908, she persuaded pastors in nearby Grafton, West Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to hold MotherÂ’s Day services in their churches. (They handed out carnations, AnnaÂ’s motherÂ’s favourite flower.) From there she launched a letter-writing campaign to U.S. governors, congressmen, clergy, media, etc. She wasnÂ’t immediately successful, but by 1914 Congress endorsed the idea. On May 9, 1914, Present Wilson issued a proclamation establishing the holiday.
HOWEVERJarvis – who had no children – came to hate the holiday she had created. She railed against its commercialism, and especially loathed flowers and greeting cards. “Any mother would rather have a line of the worst scribble from her son or daughter.” She complained, “than any fancy greeting card.” She became a recluse who never left her house, posting “Warning – Stay Away” signs on her front lawn. She refused to give interviews, but a reporter posing as a deliveryman managed to speak with her. “She told me with terrible bitterness that she was sorry she had ever started Mother’s Day,” he revealed.
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No matter what, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!
