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Mother’s Day is celebrated in countries throughout the world. In its modern form the holiday originated in the United States. It was established by American social activist Anna Jarvis, who sought to honor her mother. The first Mother’s Day church service was held on May 10, 1908. The day became a national holiday six years later, and it is observed in the U.S. on the second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day is celebrated with cards, flowers, and family dinners, among other activities.
Jarvis was inspired to create the holiday by her mother, Ann Jarvis, who organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health. In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, Ann Jarvis reportedly organized a Mothers’ Friendship Day to promote reconciliation between Union veterans and Confederate veterans and their families. In 1876, when she was 12 years old, Anna Jarvis witnessed her mother offer a prayer at the close of a Sunday school class: “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life,” her mother said. Anna Jarvis never forgot her mother’s prayer. After Ann Jarvis died in 1905, her daughter began a letter-writing and public-speaking campaign directed at local, state, and national figures and organizations. She and her supporters advocated a Mother’s Day to be observed on the second Sunday of May, which matched the day on which Ann Jarvis died.
On May 10, 1908, a Mother’s Day service was held at Jarvis’s late mother’s church in West Virginia. Within five years virtually every state was observing the day, and in 1914 U.S. Pres. Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday. Over time the day was expanded to include others, such as grandmothers and aunts, and others who played mothering roles. Jarvis had conceived of the holiday as a “personal day,” which is why Mother’s is singular rather than plural. Early celebrations included family dinners and religious services, both of which have continued.
Information from Britanica.com
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