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Published: May 6, 2021, 11:35 a.m.

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest precedent for Mother’s Day is an early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.” Across Europe, this was typically celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In the United States, it has been celebrated on the second Sunday of May since 1914 when it became an official holiday. Sadly, I don’t think mother’s actually got an actual day off from work for this quote-unquote holiday. While there are a handful of precursors and events prior to the modern celebration, Ann Jarvis is typically credited with the push to establish a formal recognition for mothers. She conceived of a Mother’s Day, after her own mother’s death, as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. Keep listening to hear how Anna Jarvis reacted to the success of Mother’s Day. You might be surprised! 

Citations:  History.Com - Mother's Day 2021 

Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle for the Control of Mother’s Day (Amazon Affiliate Link)

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