\nDuring the first celebration, the 5,000-seat auditorium in the department store was packed with guests, who Jarvis spoke to for 70 minutes. Over 15,000 people reportedly attempted to enter that day and John Wanamaker ended up extending the event to the plaza in front of City Hall to accommodate for the demand, according to Explore PA History<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nBy the following year, 46 states, Canada and Mexico had their own versions of Mother\u2019s Day. Jarvis continued to lobby governments and church groups with letter writing campaigns to amass support for national recognition.\n<\/p>\n \nOn May 8, 1914, Congress passed a law stating the second Sunday in May is to be celebrated as Mother’s Day in honor Jarvis\u2019 mother Ann, who died on the second Sunday in May in 1905. Carnations, Ann\u2019s favorite flower, were\u00a0chosen<\/a> as the official flower of the holiday.\n<\/p>\n \nThe first Mother\u2019s Day is one of five \u201cfirsts\u201d being honored across the city this month as part of Historic Philadelphia\u2019s yearlong \u201c52 Weeks of Firsts\u201d program.\n<\/p>\n \nEach Saturday, a different invention, trend or significant contribution with Philly roots is being celebrated through educational events called “Firstivals.” The Historic St. George\u2019s Museum & Archives at 326 New St. will host a Firstival in honor of the holiday\u00a0on Saturday, May 9, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.\u00a0that will include free card-making activities, educational displays and stories told by Once Upon A Nation<\/a> actors.<\/p>\n \nOver the years, Wanamaker’s and other retailers used Mother\u2019s Day as a business advantage by hosting lavish parties with flowers and music and promoting sales. The American War Mothers organization, which built care packages for war veterans, also capitalized on the holiday by raising money for their cause.\n<\/p>\n \nJarvis saw these developments as indignant to the original message of Mother\u2019s Day, which was to honor the selfless spirit of her mother, a prominent activist in their home state of West Virginia.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cAnna Jarvis\u2019 Mother\u2019s Day was very sentimental,\u201d Katharine Antolini, associate professor of American history at West Virginia Wesleyan College, said to Mother Jones<\/a> in 2024. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a day to celebrate all mothers, it was a day for you to celebrate your mother.\u201d\n<\/p>\n A statue commemorating the first Mother’s Day was designed by Allegra Yvonne Gia and will be displayed at Historic St. George\u2019s Museum & Archives at 326 New St.<\/p>\n Jarvis engaged in many legal battles with card manufacturers, florists and candy makers. She was arrested in 1925 for disturbing the peace after intruding on an annual convention for American War Mothers, who were selling carnations to raise money during the holiday, History.com reported<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nOne story describes Jarvis ordering a \u201cMother\u2019s Day Salad\u201d at the Wanamaker’s tearoom before dumping it on the floor in an act of protest, the Inquirer<\/a> reported. She referred to greeting cards as \u201ca poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write\u201d and, in 1931, attacked first lady Eleanor Roosevelt for hosting what she called an \u201cunauthorized<\/a>\u201d celebration.\n<\/p>\n \nBy the 1940s, Jarvis began actively lobbying the federal government to remove Mother\u2019s Day as a national holiday. She was eventually admitted to a sanatorium in West Chester, where she died at 84 years old.\n<\/p>\n The other four Firstival events in May are listed below. They all run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n \u2022 First American-made piano and sousaphone (1775\/1895): Johann Berent built the first piano on American soil in Philadelphia. Over a century later, Philadelphian J.W. Pepper invented the sousaphone. Their histories will be shared at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts at 300 S. Broad St. on Saturday, May 2.\n<\/p>\n \u2022 First hospital in America (1751): Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond founded the first hospital in the country for patients who couldn\u2019t afford private care. Its Firstival will be held at Pennsylvania Hospital at 800 Spruce St. on Saturday, May 16.\n<\/p>\n \u2022 First World\u2019s Fair on American soil (1876): Philadelphia hosted the first World\u2019 Fair for the country\u2019s centennial celebration, which brought tens of thousands of visitors daily to the city. A celebration will be held at the Please Touch Museum at 4231 Avenue of the Republic on Saturday May 23.\n<\/p>\n \u2022 First steamboat for passengers and freight (1737): John Fitch brought Perseverance, a steam boat that carried passengers and cargo without sails or oars to the Delaware River. His invention marked the birth of engine-powered boat travel and influenced America\u2019s first patent law. An event will be held at the Independence Seaport Museum at 211 S. Christopher Columbus Blvd. on Saturday, May 30.<\/p>\n![\"Mother's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Mothers_Day_statue.width-704.png\")
Provided Image\/Gustavo Garcia, Colibr\u00ed Workshop<\/p>\n