Mother's Day Background

Topic: Mothers

Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested the national observance of an
annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so
dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis
gave a carnation (her mother's favorite flower) to each person who attended.
Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained
popularity, and Mother's Day was observed in a number of large cities in the
U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress, President Woodrow Wilson
proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. He established the day
as a time for "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers
of our country." By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to
honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues
to this day.

Pulpit Helps, May, 1991