Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 14, and many Philadelphians likely have reservations booked for a celebratory brunch. But the Philly woman who founded the holiday eventually grew to detest the way it became celebrated.
After her mother passed away, West Virginia native and feminist Anna Jarvis moved to the City of Brotherly Love in 1892. Jarvis was inspired by her own mother, who made many sacrifices for her ten children.
The first Mother’s Day occurred on May 10, 1908 with events in her home state and at the Wanamaker (now Macy’s) department store on Market Street.
After years of campaigning and rallying to make Mother’s Day a nationally recognized holiday, President Woodrow Wilson made it official in 1914. Wilson wrote in a proclamation that it should be “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
As the years went on, it became a ‘Hallmark Holiday’, but Jarvis insisted that the day was meant to be about sentiment, and not profit. Up until the last years of her life, she fought tooth and nail against the commercialization of Mother’s Day.
So this Sunday, honor Jarvis by keeping in mind the true meaning of this holiday: celebrating moms 💗
