Celebrated in Ireland & UK on the fourth Sunday of Lent (mark it on your calendar!), Mother’s Day has been around since 16th century, and to this day is celebrated in more than 50 countries. Originally known as Mothering Sunday in the UK, we will explore the origins of this worldwide holiday, look at the US history behind it, and go back as far back as ancient history! Stay tuned for 6 different ways to celebrate this heart-warming holiday.
Celebrated in the US on the second Sunday in May, Mother’s Day was formed much later than Mothering Sunday in 1908 by Anna Jarvis from West Virginia. The focus of Mother’s Day was for children to celebrate their mothers After the death of her own mother, she spent time pushing for a holiday to encourage everyone to celebrate their mothers. Eventually, her ambitions were rewarded with President Woodrow Wilson’s decision in 1914 to finally make it an official holiday in the US. Over time this became an opportunity to also celebrate aunts, grandmothers, mothers-in-law, and others who would have had relevance as a motherly figure.
Unfortunately, the holiday became more and more commercialised over time and became something Jarvis despised, referring to it as “Hallmark Holiday”. She would then spend the rest of her life opposing the day, until she died in 1948. Mother’s Day is still popular and remains one of the biggest holidays for selling cards and flower.
