As you know - Mothers' Day is this Sunday.
“Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis' work with women's organizations inspired the creation of Mother's Day as a national holiday. She was born [Ann Maria Reeves] in Culpeper, Virginia, on September 30, 1832…. In 1850, Ann married Granville E. Jarvis….
[Mrs.] Jarvis organized a series of Mothers' Day Work Clubs … to improve health and sanitary conditions. Among other services, the clubs raised money for medicine, hired women to work for families in which the mothers suffered from tuberculosis, and inspected bottled milk and food. In 1860, local doctors supported the formation of clubs in other towns.
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis died in Bala- Cynwyd, west of Philadelphia, on May 9, 1905. Her daughter Anna led a small tribute to her mother at Andrews Methodist Church on May 12, 1907, and dedicated her life to establishing a nationally recognized Mother's Day.” - Compiled by the West Virginia State Archive found at the West Virginia Division of Culture andHistory web site.
According to the Wikipedia article on Mothers’ Day, there were much older celebrations honoring mothers: The Anatolian Earth Goddess, Cybele, known in Roman culture as Hilaria; the European Mothering Sunday derived from the former; but our American celebration is directly derived from the work of Anna Jarvis’s desire to honor her mother’s work.
It’s nice, as a mother, to know that it’s a day celebrated all over the world.
Happy Mothers’ Day
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