A Short History of Mother's Day

By Janette Vince

Mother's Day has ancient origins. In Greece, the people kept a special day to honor Rhea, the mother of the Greek gods. In Rome a few centuries later, the goddess Juno was honored at a feast called the Matronalia. The ancient Egyptians had a holiday honoring Isis, mother of Horus.

Mother's Day became established as a Christian holiday in Europe. In the 16th century, apprentices and indentured servants were allowed to return home to visit their families on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This tradition may have given rise to the British Mothering Sunday.

Mothering Sunday failed to catch on in early America. However, in the United States during the time of the Civil War, Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian woman, organized women on both sides of the conflict to work for to improve sanitation on "Mother's Work Days." When Ann Jarvis died in the early 1900's, her daughter, Anna, started a passionate crusade for Mother's Day as a national holiday.

Jarvis worked to convince church and political leaders to honor a special day for mothers. Although she succeeded in making Mother's Day nationally recognized in 1914, she took little joy in her success. She began to speak out against the commercialization of her holiday. But by then it was too late-Mother's Day was established. Today, Mother's Day is an important holiday celebrated in some form all over the world. Send your mother a card or flowers on Mother's Day, but make sure she knows that she's appreciated all year round.

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