10 MAY. 2024 · The Ancient Origins of Mother's Day While the modern Mother's Day holiday is commonly traced back to the early 20th century United States, the concept of celebrating motherhood has very ancient roots across many cultures and civilizations around the world. As far back as ancient Greek and Roman times, spring celebrations were held to honor maternal figures and goddesses of fertility and motherhood. The Greeks paid annual tribute to the revered mother of the gods, Rhea or Cybele. For the Romans, the Hilaria festival was a joyous celebration in March dedicated to the mother goddess Cybele. These lavish pagan festivals involved rituals, mask performances, parades and feasting over a three-day period. In 17th century England, a Mothering Sunday tradition emerged where domestic servants were given the day off to return home and visit their mothers. This temporary reunion was considered one of the few times per year when families could gather. The servants would pick flowers from the family estate as gifts for their mothers. Variations of maternal celebrations date back centuries across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Native American communities had long honored mother earth goddesses and the generative powers of motherhood. The Hindu communities celebrated a Divine Mother goddess through festivals. In Egypt, the annual rebirth of the deity Isis was commemorated during the vernal equinox. These early mother festivals show the deep human roots of the reverence and honor for motherhood that eventually paved the way for the modern American Mother's Day holiday.  The Pioneering Efforts of Anna Jarvis While traditions celebrating motherhood existed for millennia, the credit for establishing the official American Mother's Day holiday goes to the pioneering efforts of Anna Jarvis in the early 1900s. Inspired by her mother's longtime dream of establishing a day to honor all mothers, living and passed, Anna Jarvis launched a remarkable campaign after her mother's death in 1905. Determined to fulfill her mother's wish, Jarvis spent years writing letters and lobbying for local and national recognition of the Mother's Day holiday. The first major breakthrough came on May 10, 1908 when friends and supporters of Jarvis organized the first official Mother's Day service at a church in Grafton, West Virginia - which was Jarvis's hometown. Jarvis handed out white carnations, which represented a son or daughter's pure love and innocence toward their mother. This kicked off the annual Mother's Day tradition that year in West Virginia and soon spread across the country. Jarvis spent the next six years in an aggressive letter-writing campaign, pushing for the official adoption of Mother's Day across the United States. She famously wrote over 15,000 letters to politicians, businessmen, church leaders and organizations outlining her cause and vision for the commemorative day. Her persistence and savvy publicity efforts were critical in rallying nationwide support. Finally in 1914, through immense lobbying pressure and public support across the country, President Woodrow Wilson officially declared Mother's Day a national holiday in the United States to be celebrated annually on the second Sunday in May. In making the proclamation, Wilson stated: "The service rendered to the Republic by the American mother is the greatest source of the country's strength and inspiration...we hold deserving of a revered memory our mothers to whom we own our lives and to who we inscribe the dedicated and enriching influence of our souls." While Anna Jarvis had achieved her initial dream, little did she realize the commercialized future that would follow. The Rise of Mother's Day Commercialization From its earliest national origins, Jarvis had envisioned Mother's Day as a very sentimental, personal occasion - a day for writing letters to mothers by hand, visiting them, and celebrating motherhood through simple gestures of gratitude and affection. However, the commercialization of Mother's Day began almost immediately after its 1914 national establishment. Businesses quickly saw lucrative opportunities in a nationwide holiday celebrating mothers. Card companies began mass producing Mother's Day cards that could be purchased, rather than the labored handwritten letters Jarvis preferred. Candy makers and florists realized Mother's Day would boost confectionery and floral sales. They began heavily marketing Mother's Day gifts and packages. Other merchants promoted Mother's Day perfumes, jewelry, household gifts and treats. Even the greeting card companies used the name "Mother's Day" on their merchandise without permission from Jarvis who had tried to have it patented. By the 1920s, the commercialization of Mother's Day was raging despite Jarvis' objections. She became increasingly resentful of the corporate exploitation of the holiday she had created for the best intentions. Jarvis spent her remaining years and life's inheritance attempting to dismiss or abolish Mother's Day's commercial overtones, organizing boycotts and protests against companies, stores and the general public commercializing her creation. Jarvis's efforts were in vain, as Mother's Day merchandise sales skyrocketed through the 20th century and turned Mother's Day into one of the biggest gifting holidays of the year. Today it is a multi-billion dollar consumer industry. Most agree Jarvis's original vision and ideas were fully co-opted by companies commercializing Mother's Day for profit. Mother's Day Celebrations Around the World While starting in the United States, Mother's Day quickly spread across the world as other countries and cultures adopted their own versions of celebrating motherhood annually with festivals, gift-giving and gatherings. In the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, a longstanding tradition of Mothering Sunday dated back to the 1600s when domestic servants were given a day off in the spring to return home and visit their mothers. Over time, the 4th Sunday of Lent became the designated day to honor and celebrate mothers with family gatherings across the U.K. In Mexico, Dia de las Madres is celebrated each year on May 10, regardless of the date. It has similarities to American traditions like giving cards, flowers and gathering for family meals. Dia de las Madres traditions can also include charity activities or church services honoring mothers. Some of the unique global Mother's Day traditions include: • Nepal celebrates a special Mother's Day festival called Mata Tirtha Aunsi or Mother Pilgrimage Fortnight where participants bathe in sacred waters • In France, Mother's Day is combined with honoring the military; soldiers award their parents with military medals • Thai children give their mothers jasmine flowers and celebrate with elaborate ceremonies featuring traditional entertainment • In Argentina, the celebrations begin at midnight with children surprising mothers with serenade folk songs and sweet pastry treats Orthodox Christian and Indian communities also have vibrant Mother's Day traditions tied to different periods of their calendar. Overall, over 70 countries worldwide have adapted their unique Mother's Day celebration. The Changing Face of Mother's Day As gender roles and family dynamics have shifted dramatically in recent decades, the framing and traditions around Mother's Day have also evolved to become more inclusive and progressive. With more single fathers, same-sex parents, non-traditional family structures, and a recognition of the diverse spectrum of "mothering" roles, Mother's Day can now encompass a wider circle in addition to just biological mothers.  Special tributes