The Tribune-Democrat
May 09, 2008 09:42 am
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In 1907, a Philadelphia schoolteacher launched a national campaign to set aside a day each year to honor mothers.
Anna M. Jarvis was so moved by the impact her own mother had had on her life, that she recruited businesses leaders and politicians of her day to lobby the government to create a national day for mothers.
After seven years, her efforts paid off. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May to be a national holiday in honor of mothers.
Jarvis died in 1948. She never had children.
But her efforts endured, as each year we pause as a country to thank and honor our mothers for all that they do.
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“My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”
– George Washington, first U.S. president.
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The concept of honoring mothers goes back centuries.
The ancient Greeks held annual festivals to celebrate Rhea, the “mother of the gods.”
Early Christians held a Mother’s festival during Lent to exalt the Virgin Mary. That practice was later extended to include all mothers.
Now, Mother’s Day is a tradition across the globe, from Australia to India to Ireland.
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“I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.”
– Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president.
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“Mother is one to whom you hurry when you are troubled.”
– Emily Dickinson, author and poet.
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Even the greatest of our leaders have through the years recognized the importance of their mothers in their lives – well beyond the biological relation- ship.
Mothers are teachers – instructing us and guiding us, helping us find that right path.
Mothers are nurturers – soothing the hurts and nourishing our bodies, minds and spirits.
Mothers inspire us to our greatest achievements, and console us when we endure setbacks and hardships.
A mother’s impact lasts long beyond her lifetime, carried forward in the faces and experiences of her descendants for generations.
What an amazing thing is a mother!
So today, we join the chorus of those honoring mothers – around the world and across our region.
It is a most appropriate of holidays, a chance to pause and say what we should say every day:
“Thanks, Mom.”
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“Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother’s secret hope outlives them all.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes, physician and American poet.
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