She Created (and Hated) Mother's Day
Capitalism strikes again...
Hello, readers 👋🏻
What a doozy I have in store for you today! I planned to write a cute little newsletter about Mother’s Day. Little did I know the truly bonkers history behind the holiday’s creation! Buckle your seat belt because here… we…. go!
Anna Jarvis
Anna Jarvis grew up in Appalachia (West Virginia) in the mid-1800s. She was the 10th of 13 children, but only three of her siblings survived to adulthood because of the severe poverty in the area. Anna’s mom (Ann… not confusing at all when researching this newsletter 😉) was a social activist and founded Mothers’ Day Work Clubs, which cared for both Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War. After the Civil War, Ann also started “Mother’s Friendship Day” to promote reconciliation between mothers of former Confederate and Union soldiers. When she was twelve, Anna witnessed her mother offer a prayer during her Sunday school class.
“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life,” her mother said. “She is entitled to it.”
Anna attended Augusta Female Seminary (now named Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia).
Quick aside: It’s a running joke in Virginia that out-of-staters cannot keep the many combinations of Mary, Washington, and William straight when talking about Virginia colleges. Can confirm as someone who went to Mary Washington, which is often confused with William & Mary and Mary Baldwin!
Okay, back to our story! Anna went to Mary Baldwin and then did some job hopping. Within a matter of years, she was a teacher in her hometown in West Virginia, a bank teller in Tennessee, and worked for an insurance company in Philadelphia. In 1905, Anna’s mother, Ann, died. Anna swore at her mother’s funeral that she would create Mother’s Day to honor her memory 🥹 Now every gift I’ve ever gotten my mom feels deeply inadequate in comparison.
Two years after the funeral, Anna started a public speaking and letter-writing campaign in support of creating Mother’s Day. She founded Mother’s Day to spotlight the unsung role of domestic caregiving + selfless devotion to their families. Anna picked the second Sunday in May, as that was the day her mom died 😭
Anna was both persistent and successful! The first official Mother’s Day was held on May 10, 1908, at Anna Jarvis’ hometown church in West Virginia. After heavy lobbying efforts from florists, candy, and greeting card companies, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday in 1914.
So… all was well, right? Not so much. Anna was infuriated by the commercialization of Mother’s Day. She spent most of the rest of her life (and bank account) suing anyone who tried to profit from Mother’s Day, which she had trademarked. She particularly hated flower companies upping their prices, greeting card companies creating Mother’s Day cards, and any effort to use Mother’s Day to fundraise for charities. She even got mad at Eleanor Roosevelt for raising funds for the Maternity Center Association for Mother’s Day.
“A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who’s done more for you than anyone in the world.” -Anna Jarvis
In 1943, she created a petition to end Mother’s Day, but she was placed IN A SANATORIUM 🙀. Some say her sanatorium bill was paid for by the florists and greeting card companies 🫢 so that she would stop lobbying against one of their most profitable holidays! Historians say there is no hard evidence of that, but it is certainly possible.
If you’d like to learn more, you can visit Anna’s childhood home, which has been turned into a museum.
Here’s the big takeaway: Anna’s mom envisioned Mother’s Day as a day of rest. Instead, it has become a day where kids make a slightly inedible breakfast in bed (which the moms probably have to clean up and then make an edible breakfast to eat) and are given a crappy gift they have to return later. The best gift you can give them is a break! An intentional break from caregiving, cleaning, and the one hundred other obligations that accompany motherhood. And that should not be limited to Mother’s Day! Also, let’s throw in paid leave and affordable child care for funsies!
Bits and Bobs
⚽️ FIFA funds a study to investigate whether menstrual cycles and ACL injuries in players are linked.
Alrighty, that’s all, folks! See ya next Wednesday!
Citations
https://www.nps.gov/people/anna-maria-jarvis.htm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anna-Jarvis
https://www.npr.org/2016/05/08/477257949/take-a-second-to-salute-anna-jarvis-the-mother-of-mothers-day
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-52589173