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Origin of Mother's Day | Why do we celebrate Mother's Day?

Mother's Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. The American incarnation of Mother's Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Mother's Day falls on Sunday, May 8, this year. It may surprise you to know that celebrations honoring mothers are ancient traditions, not a Hallmark invention.

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These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized "Mothers' Friendship Day," at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation. Another precursor to Mother's Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation," a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873 Howe campaigned for a "Mother's Peace Day" to be celebrated every June 2.