The Story of Mother's Day

Mother's Day has been around for as long as I can remember. I looked up a few sources and discovered that Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe, the writer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. It was to be a day be dedicated to peace. And every year, she would organise Mother's Day meetings in Boston.

Although Mother's Day was being celebrated locally, there was none on a national level, that is, until Ms Ana Jarvis in 1907 put the wheels into motion to establish a national Mother's Day. She chose the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May, a day to honor all mothers.

Ms Jarvis started with her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia and by the next year, it was celebrated in Philadelphia.

With her supporters, Ms Jarvis went out in full force, writing to ministers, evangelists, businessmen and politicians to establish a national Mother's Day.

With such dedication came success. By 1911, it was celebrated in almost every state and in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially proclaimed Mother's Day a national holiday and that it would be held every year on the second Sunday of May.

And so it is all over the world til today although some countries celebrate Mother's Day on different days but nevertheless, there is a day to remember mothers.

Mother's Day in Malaysia Here in Malaysia, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May with flowers, cakes, cards and gifts. The newspapers would run contests on who could come up with the best dedication to mothers and there would be Mother's Day Special Movies showing on TV every Sunday in May.

On Mother's Day this year, I went to buy a birthday cake for my sister whose birthday is on 16th of May. We decided to celebrate it earlier since she would not be around on the 16th. The shop was filled with customers buying Mother's Day cakes and they gave away carnations for every order.

I know for a fact that some mothers don't get a break on Mother's Day. They even have to cook their own dinner!