Get Mom Something Nice for Mothers’ Day

People around the world celebrate Mother’s Day in one way or another. In the United States, the day to honor mothers and recognize all that they do for their families falls on the second Sunday in May which is May 8 this year.

Celebrating of mothers for the love and support they give can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Modern celebrations of mothers began in the 19th century, before the Civil War, when Ann Reeves Jarvis created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to help mothers learn how to properly raise their children, according to britanica.com

After the Civil War, in 1868, Jarvis created Mothers’ Friendship Day to put mothers together with Confederate and Union soldiers to promote reunification.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” asking mothers to join together to promote world peace, according to several online sources.

Ann Reeves Jarvis’ daughter, Anna Jarvis, began advocating for a Mother’s Day after her mother’s death in 1905. She saw Mother’s Day as a day to recognize mothers and their sacrifices.

In 1908. John Wannamaker, a Philadelphia department store owner, financially backed a Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. Thousands also visited Wannamaker’s store in Philadelphia on the same day as the West Virginia celebration.

By 1912, many states and towns were celebrating Mother’s Day. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure proclaiming the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.