Today is Mother’s Day, and though we shouldn’t need Hallmark to tell us to celebrate the women who gave us life, it’s a nice reminder.
I had no idea the history behind the holiday, did you? One woman, Anna Marie Jarvis from West Chester, Pennsylvania is the founder of Mother’s Day holiday in the United States. Anna followed her mother’s lead with her Mother’s Day Work Clubs to improve sanitary and health conditions for women. The Mother’s Day Work Clubs also treated wounds, fed, and clothed both Union and Confederate soldiers with neutrality. On May 12, 1907, two years after Anna’s mother’s death, Anna held a memorial to her mother and thereafter embarked upon a campaign to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday. All because she wanted to honor and recognize the contributions her mother made to her and society.