Bakersfield.com

In 1872 in the United States, Julia Ward Howe (who also wrote the
words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) suggested a special day
set aside for Mothers.

In 1907, Ana Jarvis from Pennsylvania began a campaign to establish
a national Mother’s Day. She persuaded her mother’s church in
Grafton, West Virginia, to celebrate Mother’s Day on the second
anniversary of her mother’s death, the second Sunday of May.

By the next year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.
Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers,
businessmen and politicians in their quest to establish a national
Mother’s Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother’s Day was
celebrated in almost every state.

President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement
proclaiming Mother’s Day as a national holiday that was to be held
each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Actually, long before Ms. Jarvis suggested the idea for a Mother’s
Day celebration it was already in existence.'

The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to the
spring celebration of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the mother of
the gods. As ‘Christianity’ spread throughout Europe the celebration
changed to honor the “Mother Church” – the spiritual power that gave
them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church
festival blended with Mothering Sunday celebration. People began
honoring their mothers as well as the church'.

Three points of interest are:

1. Only one day a year is set aside to honor mothers.
2. It wasn’t celebrated by Jesus and his followers.
3. It was originally in honor of a false goddess, Rhea.

Everyday our mothers should be shown honor and this applies to
fathers as well.  It would be a dishonor to disrespect them all year
and then think that giving a card or gift once a year will make up
for it with them - or with God.
And remember, mother’s day truly begins the day you are born from
her womb until the day she is no longer with you.'

*REMEMBER HER NOW

If there are things you want to say
speak now, my friends, while it’s still day,
Remember her now.

If there are hurts you want to mend
then do it now while time’s your friend,
Remember her now.

Don’t let it be that once a year
you send a card to show you care,
Remember her now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Main information source from Mother’s Day on the NET – the Story
www.holidays.net/mother/story.htm
*Poem by Sandy Joseph