Mother’s Day turns 100

It’s a birthday. May 11, 2014. It marks the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day was officially enacted as a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. The influence behind the effort was a passionate West Virginia woman named Anna Jarvis, who had secured the support of wealthy Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker for his lobbying skills. Between the two, government leaders thought it a noble idea to set aside one day annually in honor of the oft-forgotten value of mothers. It is now a part of American culture on the second Sunday of every May.

But there’s more to the story. Nine years later, Ms. Jarvis switched gears and became an ardent opponent of Mother’s Day, claiming that the holiday had become so commercialized, it lost its meaning. She spent the rest of her life, until 1948, protesting the exploitation of the new holiday citing, for example, commercialized greeting cards, a device that promoted laziness because it often supplanted the writing of personal notes of love and respect.

Mother’s Day is here to stay, regardless of the commercial aspect. It sets one day aside for Americans to show special honor and love to the most important person in the life of every human being; those who carried us, birthed us, nurtured us and guided us, starting with conception and followed by love, care, teaching and growth. Ultimately, our mothers in their senior years become the loving matriarch of millions of families. No stronger adoration exists than that of a devoted mother. Such love also transcends the animal world as we have seen, especially among mammals and birds.

While we think of traditional motherhood, there are many non-traditional examples of motherly devotion that deserve equal recognition: women who adopt children, women who take on the children of their previously married husbands, grandmothers who become the surrogate mothers of kids who lost their moms, single mothers who have to tough it out alone and those who rise to the occasion when they bear multiple children.

Some women overcome enormous struggles, like Vivien, a mother of two boys who was widowed three times and lost one son to drowning when he was 7. She had to fight joblessness, depression, alcohol and single motherhood without government assistance for many struggling years, but never hesitated to place her son’s needs before her own. She died much too young to reap the rewards of her love and devotion.

While there are some moms who may not be perfect for one reason or another, the overwhelming number are truly deserving of the national holiday, and we should never forget to bestow our heartfelt appreciation for all they have sacrificed and given to us.

We also should express our thanks to Anna Jarvis by making an effort to present our moms with personalized, handwritten messages and not take the easy way out through the commercial process. Ms. Jarvis would turn in her grave if she knew a “Happy Mother’s Day” was ever issued as a text message.

To loving moms: We love you all.

And, about that woman named Vivien? Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured photo is by Myles Grant. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.