According to an article published by Canwest News Service (May 11, 2005), “Mother’s Day creator likely ‘spinning in her grave.” Here is a brief excerpt.

To read the complete article, please click here.

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Pity the mother of Mother’s Day.

Anna Jarvis — never married, never a mother — campaigned for almost a decade to dedicate a day to honor mothers. She chose a Sunday because she wanted it to be a “holy” day, not a holiday, and the second Sunday in May because it was the anniversary of the death of her own beloved mother.

Jarvis wanted us to show our mothers how much their devotion and sacrifice matters, how we esteem the “truth, purity and broad charity of mother love.” She expected us to do it with simple gestures — in her opinion, a single white carnation and a heartfelt letter were best. Her carnations were handed out at the first Mother’s Day ceremony exactly 100 years ago.

And look at how we repaid her.

Throughout the decades, the “holy” day has evolved into a retailing and marketing bonanza, each year becoming more and more a chance to spend money rather than time or effort, until we arrive at today, when retailers can, with a straight face, suggest you “show Mom you care” by buying their platinum charm bracelet, their “Thanks A Bunch” floral arrangement, or their discounted patio furniture (nothing says filial love like a powder-coated aluminum table you scored for 50 per cent off).

“I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit,” Jarvis complained, dismissing greeting cards as “a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write.”

Anna Jarvis wasn’t too lazy to write letters. They were the greatest weapon in her campaign to create Mother’s Day.

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This year, I plan to celebrate Mother’s Day by following Anna Jarvis’ example: I will send a personal note (not an email message, not a “store-bought” card) to every mother I admire most and thank her for being such a terrific mother. Recipients include my wife, our daughter, two daughters-in-law, and wives of best friends.

While on the subject of appreciation, let’s not overlook the importance of Julia Ward Howe who, decades before Jarvis began her campaign for a national “holy day” to honor mothers, led a campaign to establish a worldwide “Mothers Day for Peace” with her “Mother’s Day Proclamation” in 1870, clearly in response to the Civil War and perhaps the Franco-Prussian War.

However, Jarvis seems to deserve most of the credit for the proclamation that U.S. President Woodrow Wilson issued in 1914, calling for the observance of Mother’s Day. Other countries eventually followed, including Canada, which made it official the following year.