Happy Mother’s Day from the Jefferson County Post!

Sunday, May 8, 2016 is Mother’s Day, the beloved holiday dedicated to celebrating the influence mothers have had throughout the lives of families and society in general around the world. Mother’s Day originated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial celebration for her mother in Grafton, VA, at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church; Jarvis’ mother was a peace activist who cared for soldiers in both the Confederate and Union armies in the American Civil War. Despite Jarvis’ attempts to make Mother’s Day a national holiday, it took six years for Woodrow Wilson to sign a proclamation making the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day: by this point, due to Jarvis’ campaigning, all states had celebrated the holiday in some capacity. It wasn’t until the 1920s that pre-made greeting cards became a staple of Mother’s Day, which has turned Mother’s Day into one of the most commercially successful American holidays.

Today, Mother’s Day is at a new height of popularity. Church attendance soars on Mother’s Day, making it the third most attended holiday church service behind Christmas and Easter. Despite the holiday’s American origin, Mother’s Day has flourished internationally. The holiday has been adopted by countries all over the world, with varying dates of celebration.