There are over 1,500 national holidays. On May 8, 1914, the United States Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Specifically, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill designating the second Sunday in May as a legal holiday to be called “Mother’s Day” …dedicated “to the best mother in the world, your mother.” It is the second largest consumer spending holiday in the United States according to the National Retail Federation.
The creation of a national Mother’s Day is attributed to three women, i.e., Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Ann’s daughter, Anna M. Jarvis.
Eventually, Anna Jarvis from Philadelphia wished to memorialize her mother’s life and started campaigning for a national day to honor all mothers.
Her efforts came to fruition, when in May of 1907, Anna Jarvis memorialized her mother’s lifelong activism with a memorial service held at the Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna’s mother had taught. The following year, on May 10th, a Mother’s Day service was held at that same church to acknowledge all mothers. Consequently, the idea that the second Sunday in May be set aside to honor every mother, whether living or deceased, was born.
Ms. Jarvis’s efforts came to the attention of the mayor of Philadelphia, who proclaimed a local Mother’s Day. While West Virginia was the first state to officially adopt the holiday, others followed suit.
From the local and state levels, Ms. Jarvis later traveled to Washington, D.C. where federal politicians lent verbal support.
Proclamation of the day by the various states spurred Representative J. Thomas Heflin of Alabama and Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas to present a joint resolution to Congress that Mother’s Day be observed nationwide. The resolution was passed by both houses.
Historically, the tradition dates to pagan celebrations in ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. In Rome, as well, Cybele, a mother of goddesses, was worshipped as early as 250 B.C. In the 17th Century, England celebrated a day called “Mothering Sunday” on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
One can include their mother-in-law on this date as well. However, National Mother-in-Law Day, which is modeled after Mother’s Day, is officially celebrated on the fourth Sunday in October. That occasion honors the other mother in many people’s lives. Gene Howe, the editor of an Amarillo, Texas newspaper, started the holiday in honor of mothers-in-law. It was first celebrated on March 5, 1934, in Amarillo, Texas.
Through the years, celebrants observed the occasion on various days. In later years, the Mother-in-Law Day Committee developed and selected honorees each year. Then in the 1970s, the American Society of Florists proclaimed the last Sunday in October to be National Mother-In-Law-Day. Since that time, the date has been observed accordingly.
The foregoing is merely a summary of the holiday. If you should have any legal concerns or issues, please call the attorneys at the law firm of CASERTA & SPIRITI.