A Brief History of Mother's Day

Mums hold a special place in our hearts, so no wonder we dedicate a special day to them - Mother's Day. Many love to celebrate it, but only a few know how Mother's Day came to be. Hooray Heroes did a little research for you.

GIFTS FOR MDAY

The Very Beginnings

Mother’s Day, in the US, celebrated on the second Sunday in May, didn’t start only as a day to honour mothers, but as a desire to make the lives of American women better.

#1 MDAY GIFT

The idea for Mother’s Day can be attributed to three women: Ann Reeves Jarvis, her daughter Anna M. Jarvis, and Julia Ward Howe.

I LOVE YOU, MUM

Ann Reeves Jarvis

She was a young Appalachian housewife who taught Sunday school. Reeves Jarvis was concerned about the high infant mortality rate and wanted to educate and help mothers. She organized “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” in the mid-1800s to improve their living conditions.

GIFTS FOR MUM

During the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis also organized women’s brigades, encouraging women to help each other regardless of the side they were on. After the war, she came up with a Mothers’ Friendship Day to promote peace between former Union and Confederate families.

Julia Ward Howe

She was a poet and a reformed who suggested “Mother’s Day for Peace” to celebrate the end of the war.

MDAY GIFTS

In 1870, she wrote a “Mother’s Day Proclamation” where she stated that mothers all across the US should work together to prevent the war which is hardest exactly on women and mothers.

“Mother’s Day for Peace” was celebrated in some places for around 30 years, but died down when WWI started.

Anna M. Jarvis

Then in 1907, Ann Reeves Jarvis' daughter Anna wished to pay homage to her mother and started the initiative for a national holiday that would celebrate all American mothers. 

GIFTS FOR MDAY

She was very passionate about the idea and addressed countless public figures and organizations, distributed booklets, etc. 

Why May?

Anna M. Jarvis organized a memorial service for her mother on a Sunday in May of 1907 in the same church in West Virginia where her mother had taught Sunday school. 

GET HER ONE

 The next year, a memorial service honouring all mothers was held in the same church. The idea of Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May was born there and then. 

The Road To A Holiday

 West Virginia was the first state to officially adopt the holiday, but Anna M. Jarvis didn't stop there. She went on to Washington D.C. Finally, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill designating the second Sunday in May as “Mother’s Day”. 

I LOVE YOU, MUM

What To Get Her?

You can't go wrong with a 100% personalised book for mum - the bestselling Mother's Day gift from Hooray Heroes.

More than 100,000 mums around the Glove have cried when they opened their Mother's Day gift. 

Make Mother's Day unforgettable and surprise her with the best Mother's Day gift ever.