As I sit here celebrating Mother’s Day by not sharing my opinion on anything and everything, I started to wonder why we have one day a year to celebrate Mother’s Day.
If you are not aware of how Mother’s Day started, it was President Woodrow Wilson who lobbied Congress in 1914 to have Mother’s Day officially set on the second Sunday of every May. In his first Mother’s Day proclamation, Wilson stated that the holiday offered a chance to “[publicly express] our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
It wasn’t Wilson’s idea so he shouldn’t take a bow for it. Anna Jarvis campaigned to make Mother’s Day a recognized holiday in the United States in 1905, the year her mother died. It came to fruition in 1908, but that’s not the end of the story. Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. She wanted to honor her mother by continuing the work she started. Anna was totally against the commercialization by the floral industry, greeting card industry and candy industry so she tried to “undo” Mother’s Day to no avail.
Someone wrote “It is that time of the year when you appreciate your mother for bringing you into this world and nurturing you.”
In my opinion, we should not celebrate Mother’s Day on the 2nd Sunday of May, but celebrate Mother’s Day everyday privately, not publicly as Wilson said.
I’m not suggesting showering your mother with flowers, candy and cards constantly, but by showing appreciation to the mother you have and someday the mother you won’t have.
Every day should be Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, too. I’ve always thought the same thing. Both days are sad for us, now that my parents and my hubby’s are gone, plus my sister, who was a mother of seven. Three of her seven have passed on, too. It’s sobering to be the topmost generation of your family!