Following the death of her beloved mother in 1905, Anna Jarvis sought out a way to honor both her mother and all mothers everywhere. On the second anniversary of her mother’s death, Jarvis held a service in her mother’s tribute at church.
The history of Mother’s Day begins on May 10, 1908, despite it not yet being an official holiday that year. The day was marked by small events in Grafton, West Virginia, and celebrated in Philadelphia, where Anna Jarvis resided. At the church where her mother taught Sunday School, Jarvis sent 500 white carnations—her mother’s favorite—to be worn by the sons and daughters in their mother’s honor.
Anna Jarvis spread the word of Mother’s Day by writing countless letters and creating campaigns to draw attention both in the US and around the world. It became a full-time pursuit, and the holiday was officially approved by Congress in 1914.
Within years of her hard work trying to establish Mother’s Day as a recognized holiday, Anna Jarvis took on a new pursuit to end Mother’s Day, feeling it had become too commercialized. She fought and petitioned against the floral industry, greeting card companies, the United States Postal Service and charities that used the holiday for fundraising. Jarvis was not as successful in ending Mother’s Day as she was with creating it. Though it would likely pain her to know, today she is still regarded as the “Mother of Mother’s Day.”
