Friday, May 10, 2019

The Truth about Mother's Day

Some of the facts about Mother’s Day are surprising and unexpected. The idea of an official celebration of Mother’s Day in America was first suggested by Julia Ward Howe in 1872.  She became famous with her Civil War song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Anna Jarvis is actually recognized as the Founder of Mother’s Day in the United States. She never married or had children herself. However, she got the inspiration for celebrating Mother’s Day from her own mother Mrs. Anna Marie Reeves Jarvis, an activist and social worker. Mrs. Jarvis expressed a desire to have a day set aside to honor all mothers, living and dead, and pay tribute to the contributions made by them. 

 By 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state in the
Union, and on May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Mother’s Day is now celebrated in several countries including the US, UK, India, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Belgium. People take the day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for all their love and support. Sadly, Anna Jarvis became disillusioned by the commercialization of the holiday. She eventually denounced it.

Today mothers are honored with many kinds of gifts: cards, perfume, jewelry, candy, flowers, plants. If a mother is a reader, books are great Mother’s Day gifts, either print or digital.

What most of us who are mothers appreciate most is simply spending time with our children. Sharing a meal like a brunch or dinner together is one way of making the day special. If children live and work too far away to visit, a phone call is always appreciated. I hope to see my children and grandkids.

My gift to other mothers this year is some fun free reading--since this is International Short Story Month as well.

For a Mother’s Day story:

“The Art of Listening”



BEYOND THE BO TREE is a collection of ten romantic short stories of all types and lengths. The first one, “The Phone Call,” is a free read:



What are your thoughts regarding Mother’s Day? How do you think this holiday should be spent?


12 comments:

  1. I sympathize with Anna Jarvis - while gifts and flowers are always lovely, it's a shame that our holidays have become so commercialized. For those of you who still have your mother, make every day a Mother's Day. Don't wait for one day a year to celebrate. This is a great post, Jacqueline. I enjoyed it.

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  2. Hi Susan,

    Thanks for commenting. I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day.

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  3. I love your Mother Day posts. It's such a wonderful family holiday. My son and daughter in law are taking me out for dinner tomorrow so I'll have a fantastic Mother Day and I wish the same to you and all your readers.

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    1. Nothing better than celebrating the holiday by breaking bread with our children.

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  4. Great minds think alike, Jacqueline! I was (might still) do a post on Mother's Day for work blog LOL!

    Interesting stuff.
    Good luck and God's blessings
    PamT

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  5. Hi Pam,

    Mother's Day deserves a blog post.

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  6. Interesting history.
    I will take my wife out for Mother's Day, and I'll toast all the mothers out there, including her and my own.
    It's a very special day. And the time is perfect: blossoms are on the trees and the wisteria at the very historical Van Vleck house here in Montclair, NJ, are in full bloom too.
    Happy Mother's Day to all mothers who read this.
    r/Steve

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  7. I attended Montclair State College as an undergrad--I guess it's Montclair University now. And that area is beautiful.

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  8. Happy Mother's Day, Jacqueline! I hope you had a good one.

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  9. Dear Paul,

    Thank you for commenting. Yes, it was a good day. I got to lunch with our children and grandkids. It meant a lot to me.

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  10. I ordered and began reading TIGHTROPE by Amanda Quick. I was disappointed that the opening did not sound like her usual. I set it aside, but will pick it up again, eventually. Meanwhile, I'm finishing a draft of a true crime novel, working title: FATHER OF THE YEAR. I planned it to go 75,000 words. The not-quite-finished draft is at 67,000, which means I will struggle editing and polishing to keep it to goal length. Do summertime distractions make you eager to get back to the computer keyboard? Me, too. Ready, set....

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