Mother’s Day may be filled with chocolates, flowers and breakfast in bed, but it wasn’t always meant to be like that. Anna Jarvis, the Philadelphia woman behind the holiday, started Mother’s Day to honor her late mother and advocate for better healthcare for women and children.
The first large-scale Mother’s Day celebration was held right here in Philadelphia in 1908 after efforts spearheaded by Jarvis.
“She was the mother of Mother’s Day, but she did not have children, and this was really her carrying out the cause of her own mother,” said Selena Austin of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Jarvis was from Grafton, West Virginia, and moved to Philadelphia in 1892. When her mother Ann Marie Reeves died on May 9, 1905, Jarvis started the celebration to honor her spirit, and Reeves’ advocacy, repeatedly championing better healthcare for women and children.
Jarvis helped coordinate a service at their church in West Virginia and here in Philadelphia on May 10, 1908, a day close to the anniversary of her mother’s passing.
“She also though, has friends in Philadelphia and she has an advocate in John Wanamaker. John Wanamaker, who at this point is very very well established, very successful with the Wanamaker department store, and had a very close relationship with his own mother, lets Anna use the space… to hold a ceremony,” Austin said.
There, thousands of people attended, and they handed out carnations — Anna’s mother’s favorite flower — to all of the mothers there.
From there, Mother’s Day began to be celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year. Right out in front of City Hall, near the Wanamaker Building, is a historical marker to show the city’s connection.
As Mother’s Day celebrations picked up steam, other states around the nation wanted to join in. But Jarvis grew upset that the meaning of the holiday was being lost, Austin said.
“It’s no longer about celebrating and advocating for these people in our lives. It’s now become commercialized, and there is a dollar sign attached to it, which really, really irritates her and leads her, unfortunately, to sort of regret ever organizing this holiday,” Austin said.
Jarvis spent the rest of her life fighting to bring back the true meaning of Mother’s Day until she died in 1948.
“In the end it’s not what she envisioned it to be. It took a different turn,” Austin said. “It’s a bittersweet story.”
While it’s important to spoil all moms everywhere, it’s also just as special to remember why the holiday started.
“Remember that the original intent of the holiday is to celebrate your mother, everything that she has done for you, and everything that women have accomplished and been able to achieve, and what they can still continue to do,” Austin added.
While moms everywhere ought to be celebrated 365 days a year, Mother’s Day was officially recognized in 1914 by President Woodrow Wilson.